9 Days Roadtrip in Taiwan with family - Part 2
Here is a quick overview of our roadtrip destinations that are covered in this video:
Hualien City - delicious food and dessert
Sunset spot by the sea close to Hualien City
Driving through Yushan National Park
Sunset in Kaohsiung at Dragon and Tiger Pagodas
Xiao Liuqiu (Island in the South) to swim with giant sea turtles
Hiking and river tracing to Lisong Hot Springs and camping there
Exploring the night market of Hualien City
Getting a glimpse of Jiufen Old Street
Important remarks
Xiao Liuqiu (or Lambai Island or Liuqiu Island)
At Xia Liuqiu Island you can swim with turtles all year round. We explored it in winter and it was warm enough to go swimming. Also the turtles can be found every single day right from the shore.
How to get to Xiao Liuqiu:
We went to the port close to Kaohsiung (paste this to Google Maps: 東琉線交通船聯營處) and just bought a roundtrip ticket (saves you a bit of money) right there for the next ferry to Xiao Liuqiu.
If you just want to walk and not rent a motorbike I would suggest to take a ferry to "Baishawei Ferryboat Harbor" and NOT to "Dafu Ferryboat Wharf", because Vase Rock and the beach to swim with the turtles is in walking distance from Baishawei.
How to get back from Xiao Liuqiu:
If you bought a roundtrip ticket you can take any ferry of the same company at any time that suits you back. If you only bought a single trip then you can buy a ticket with any company to go back.
Swimming with turtles:
The best part is that the turtles are always around and you can spot them already from the beach.
And they have BIIIIIIGGGGG turtles there, we were really surprised!
The beach we walked to is called Zhongao Beach and has sand to walk in, so you don' have to worry too much about getting scratched (compared to Vase Rock, where it is completely rocky with strong waves).
The turtles are protected and you are by law prohibited to touch them! The impose huge fines for disrespecting that, so be sure to keep your distance.
Lisong Hotsprings
Getting there:
the road to the trailhead is sketchy and only one-way with just a few places to make space. So it is possible that one of the cars has to go backwards in order to pass.
parking is very limited and the road conditions made us hike 2km extra, because our rental car didn"t have high clearance (it probably could have made it but better safe than sorry)
Hiking:
the hike is very steep but is supported with ropes all the way down
there are old gloves available to use, but if you can bring your own ;)
at the end you have to do river tracing (walk in the cold water and climb slippery rocks) in order to reach the actual hot spring (some water shoes are good idea)
make sure to cross the river already in the very beginning, where it is still shallow it will save you much trouble
pack already all your gear (best in a waterproof bag) to take photos as you might not go back a second time (Vali thought she will go and check it out and then go to the hot spring again in the morning, but it was such a hassle that she decided not to go again and therefore has no got footage now of the hotsprings itself)
we went in the beginning of January and the water levels were low enough to reach the hot springs
once you are done soaking and want to make your way back you have 2 options, climb back up on the left side or swim. Kevin chose to climb and it was fine. Vali chose to swim and regretted it, because she went in right at the edge where the water is pretty strong and the flow pulled her down very hard. She is an excellent swimmer and couldn't keep herself at the surface and the water was so strong that she didn't know when she will be able to breath again. Same thing happened to her mom, who also wanted to swim back. Nobody got harmed but I think it is worth mentioning.
If you want to swim I suggest to go in a little further away to avoid the strong stream close to the edge. Also simply knowing what is going to happen to know what to expect helps already in my opinion.
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Camping
Wild Camping is allowed, but there are no facilities. Leave no trace and pack all your trash and wipes back out!
there is easily room for 2 tents, possibly more when you look around the riverbed
check the weather and avoid staying too close to the river in case of flash-floods
know that the taiwanese blackbear could potentially be in that area, and pack your food safely (read some bear safe camping advise)
because it was winter and Lisong hot springs are located in the mountains, we brought a whole pack of handwarmers to add into our sleeping bags (which have a rated comfort zone of 4 - 11 degrees Celsius)
let us know if you have any more questions in the comments
All copyright free music used in this video comes from here: http://share.epidemicsound.com/freemusi