Crab Cave and the Bokhara Battery ~ Cape D’Aguilar Medium

I’ve blogged earlier on the Cape D’Aguilar Battery ( the main one) :

https://hongkonghikinglover.com/2020/12/11/cape-daguilar-battery-hike/

And also blogged some years ago on the Cape D’Aguilar trail for those who wished to hike with strollers and kids and covered the lighthouse, the whale skeletal and Thunder cave.

https://hongkonghikinglover.com/2018/01/27/cape-d-aguilar-easy-trail/

This blog is about enjoying the crab cave and a climb to the Bokhara Battery close to the Cape D’Aguilar Marine Reserve.

You can enjoy an entire day out doing everything or you can break it into three parts if you’re short on time.

Difficulty: 4/10 the scramble to the battery a bit slippery

Duration: approximately 2 hours, 8.02 kilometres

How to get there: Take the MTR to ShauKeiwan and exit at A3.  There’s the bus terminus, take no. 9 bus that goes to Shek O. However you need to alight at the Cape D’Aguilar bus stop. ( Please note on Sundays the number 9 bus doesn’t always stop at Cape D’ Aguilar so check for the sign on the bus).

You need to alight at the bus stop and start walking down the Cape D’ Aguilar road to your right as you alight.

I walked down Cape D’Aguilar road and since it was a bright, sunny and clear day, I got beautiful views. I could see Stanley in the distance.

I also saw the Cape D’Aguilar battery down below by zooming in on it.

I kept walking on the Cape D’Aguilar road and passed by beautiful trees barren of leaves literally stripped naked.

I walked passed the Cape D’Aguilar radio station but on the muddy path parallel to it.

I could see Garbage beach below where a man was sweetly cleaning up.

I turned right and kept walking towards the marine reserve.

Instead of sticking to the concrete path, I turned right and walked to the shore.

I didn’t visit the thunder cave. But here is a video of it of before. It’s worth visiting.

It’s a wondrous sight and a fantastic phenomenon of nature. For this cave, you need to continue on the road and take a left where you’ll see an opening. Go down that path. It is comparatively much easier than before.

I walked through the rocks and saw the whale skeletal or the remnants of it. Poor guy/gal had more bones when I last visited.

I walked towards the rocky path and headed to crab cave just behind the marine reserve.

It was magnificent. The center resembled the mouth and the arch looked like the tentacles of the crab.

I got into the mouth of the crab and enjoyed the sound of the waves lashing vigorously against the rocks. It was a pretty sight.

I decided to carry on towards the rocky path where I saw something protruding out from above. I decided to climb onto the rocks and came to the Cape D’Aguilar Marine Reserve sign.

Atop crab cave.

After the crab cave climb I kept going towards the signboard ‘Cape D’Aguilar Marine Reserve’ and realised that thunder cave was just below. I could not get a great picture as I was a bit scared of losing my balance and falling into the sea. 😁

I kept climbing and reached a slippery part. I held onto the roots of the plants and some rocks and pulled myself up.

I was pretty high and crab cave looked small.

I continued and finally reached this old structure which was the Bokhara Battery.

The two 9.2” guns that had been at Pottinger Battery at the foot of Devil’s Peak were moved to a new location just north of the old Cape D’Aguilar Lighthouse. The new location was called Bokhara Battery and was manned in 1941, not long after it had been completed, by the 8th (Coast) Regiment’s 30th Coastal Battery under Major Cecil Templer RA.

It was destroyed by the crew on December 19th, 1941 due to Japanese invasion. As of today nothing remains. Just the structure and heavily overgrown shrubbery.

There was no way out so I had to retrace my steps and had to go downhill via the slippery slope and over the pointed rocks.

I got back to the concrete path abd walked towards the bus stop.

I didn’t spend too much time at the lighthouse as I had some years ago as it was too crowded. Here’s the latest picture of the refurbished lighthouse.

Got some lovely views from behind the lighthouse.

The road going up before the path to the lighthouse led me to some more abandoned, old, dilapidated structures. It was amazing.

After all the sightseeing, I decided to get back and I kept on the path till I reached the bus stop.

The picture above is a kind of stop over where a gentleman sells aerated drinks, beers, ice creams, iced pineapple etc. if you ever need to replenish your stock.

This was a lovely find; the Bokhara Battery and the crab cave. As I mentioned earlier, you can spend the entire day and visit the Cape D’Aguilar battery, thunder cave, crab cave and the Bokhara Battery.

However, this hike is not stroller friendly. You can take your kids on this little adventure but it would be a bit risky as the rocks are extremely sharp. Do take care of your canine kids if you do take them along as there are many strays along the way.

This is a must do when you visit Cape D’Aguilar.

Do wear a mask as there are loads of people visiting the caves.

Stay safe and happy hiking.

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https://www.facebook.com/honkiehiker/.

Thank you 😊