In the last few months I have explored the Qingshui Cliffs from the Pacific Ocean twice as many times as I have in the five plus years living in Taiwan. That is to say, I’ve been two times in the last few months, once by SUP and most recently by kayak. I’m going to recount my kayaking trip along the cliffs with OwlTing Experiences, but if you’d like to see more about SUP, read this.
My day started at 3am, which is always rough, but I’m used to it from my mountain trekking experiences. As I’ve always said, you have to earn a sunrise!
I was staying at my go to hostel in Hualien, the Lazy House, and this time had the comfort of knowing I would be picked up by my kayak guide at 3:30 am. So I walked down the street to 7-11, got a coffee, and relaxed outside and waited. So far the easiest attempt at viewing sunrise thus far.
My guide Liber, from Moonyak, picked me up and he brought me to get suited up with a helmet, water shoes, and a lifejacket. I went through some brief instruction on paddling a kayak, and I was off! We drove to the beach at Chongde and waited for the perfect opportunity to get in the water. There were a ton of other groups out there this morning, larger parties and people who seemingly had less experience on the open water, more on their experience later. Let’s just say I was really grateful to have a private sunrise kayak session with my guide, who let me go at my own pace.
The colors were starting to poke out over the horizon, and it looked like a beautiful sunrise was on the way. Pleasantly surprised after weeks straight of plum rains, we got in the water and slowly made our way along the coastline.
Now, I can’t stress this enough. Being in the Pacific Ocean, along the staggering cliffs of Taiwan’ east coast, is incredible. The ocean’s color varies as you move through it. I kayaked from a cloudy sediment filled milk-blue, to a tropical turquoise, to a deeper hue. The sky was opening up and the oranges and blues started to fill the sky as the big orange sun poked out over the horizon, leaving a gorgeous reflection seemingly pointed straight at us.
Me and Liber were casually cruising along, letting the larger groups race ahead so we didn’t have to be grouped in the cluster. It was a great time to just sit and take in the sunrise, in the calming movements of the ocean’s swells. I have to say I could not have enjoyed myself and my time in the water if I had been with one of those large groups. There is something very unappealing about kayaking in a group of 20 people who don’t know how to do it. Thankfully with Moonyak and my guy Liber, we avoided those big crowds and had the serene feeling of the ocean all to ourselves. As the crowds passed and the sun rose, we continued along the cliffs. The benefit of kayaking as opposed to SUP is that you can physically go further along the cliffs. We went practically to the ever popular viewing platform along the road, roughly 2km on the water. Along the way, while we were putting in the work to kayak, we noticed one group literally BEING TOWED TO THE END POINT AND BACK. This is what I mean. Why on earth would you sign up for a kayaking trip just to get towed by a boat while sitting in a kayak. That’s absolutely insane to me, insane that a tour provider would even consider doing that, and insane that customers would be content with that experience.
Again, I was so thankful to be with a tour provider who allowed me the full experience, and the freedom to go at my own pace.
One thing that was pretty cool to see was a landslide on the cliffs, all the way down to the beach. Apparently there was an earthquake, as there are every day in Taiwan, and the rocks broke free above. We sat from our kayaks and watched the rocks tumble down the cliff towards the beach. They landed with a big THUD, and all we could think about was the brilliant idea to close the old Su’Ao highway and bore tunnels instead.
We made it to a few rocks jutting out at the base of the Qingshui Cliffs and turned back around. The water was choppier there, and if we had gone any further it would have made for some rough kayaking. We took our time heading back, jumped off the kayaks and took a swim, marveling at our surroundings and how stunning they were.
As we got back to the beach, we rode the waves into the shore on our kayaks. My attempt wasn’t graceful, I almost flipped over, but it was good enough to get safely on the shore. All in all the trip was about 3 hours and well worth the early wake up. EARN THAT SUNRISE!
Overall this was an amazing experience, and the people at Moonyak, especially Liber, were awesome through the whole process. It’s a tough call to choose between SUP and kayaking along the Qingshui Cliffs, so I encourage you to give both a shot and make the decision yourselves!
