City of angles: Five outdoor enthusiasts show a different view of Hong Kong
The stories of five outdoor enthusiasts and how their passions give them a different view of Hong Kong.
Watch: Hong Kong as you've never seen it before
Ernesto Spicciolato emerges from the mist and drags his kayak up onto the shore in the otherwise empty Hap Mun bay on what has turned out to be one of the foggiest days of the year – the zero visibility adds to the sense of utter remoteness, though we’re actually only a 15-minute ride away from Sai Kung pier.
“Kayaking is all about freedom,” he says. “I like everything about it: I like the shape of the object, I like the silence, how the kayak cuts the waves.”
A designer and senior teaching fellow at Polytechnic University’s School of Design, in his spare time Spicciolato collects vintage and abandoned kayaks, and repairs and customises them. He paddles around the islands surrounding Sai Kung and goes spearfishing, before heading home to dine on his catch.
“I like Sharp Island because it’s quite big and savage, and by kayaking you can go to beaches that nobody else can get to. And here, in Hap Mun bay, there are some really nice caves,” he says. “The sea in this area is clean, you can find a lot of coral, colourful fish, and it’s beautiful.”
Spicciolato has lived here for 12 years and started kayaking seven years ago. While there are rivers near his hometown in a national park in Abruzzo, Italy, he enjoys exploring Hong Kong’s seas.
