15 minutes away from Sai Kung Town Centre, the 2500m long and 500m wide Sharp Island was once at the very edge of the caldera of an active supervolcano with a diameter of 18km. The dramatic and dynamic outcrops one could now access at Sharp Island is a product of a more than 140 million-year-long migmatisation of volcanic ash, lapillus and lava. Topographically unfit for living and agricultural activities, this sylvan sanctuary remained uninhabited except for a brief stay of an immigrant from Yim Tin Tsai. Today, Sharp Island is able to outshine its other neighbours at the Sai Kung Hoi for two reasons: the tombolo that emerges only during low tide and the boulders (or alternatively, pineapple bun rocks) that manifested extraordinary cracks like pineapple buns.

The Ethereal Island Excursion
Amongst the older generation, this narrow island was more than an ecologically mesmerising haven. In 1981, a local businessman and a landlord embarked on a resort project on the island. Built immediately behind the public beach, they equipped the resort with a racecourse, a ropes course, a disco, an artificial lake and an inline skating rink. It offered the “perfect” weekend excursion for visitors until its closure in 1989. In 2013, the resort was refurbished into a private mansion of another businessman. Today, beyond its popularity as a pitstop for kayak-goers, Sharp Island is ecologically prominent as a member of the Hong Kong Geopark — every piece of stone, sand and plant each tells a historically rich story that could date not only hundreds of years ago but billions.