How to Walk the Nam Sang Wai Bund Loop and Cross the Ferry Responsibly

The Nam Sang Wai loop is a 5 km walk on private fish-pond bunds. You will walk a mix of concrete, grass bund, and mud after rain, and cross the Shan Pui River on a sampan that runs only at the boatman's discretion. Do not count on it. This guide tells you the real surface conditions, the ferry's failure case, and the low-impact behaviour expected on active fish-farming land. There are no hides, no visitor centre. The only facility is a portable toilet near the southern end. The route is open-access during daylight, but the land is private and the farming operations are real. Your presence is a privilege, not a right.

The sampan ferry is the most misunderstood detail of the Nam Sang Wai loop. Guidebooks describe a river crossing, but the reality is a single small boat operated at the boatman's discretion. There is no timetable, no posted fare, and no guarantee the boat will be there. The boatman decides whether to run based on weather, time, and personal availability. Do not rely on the ferry for a completed loop. Treat a crossing as a bonus, not a given.

Heavy rain stops the service immediately. After dark, the boat does not run. You may arrive at the landing point to find a locked gate and no boat. The unposted fare in 2026 is about HK$7 per person, payable in cash. Carry small notes, not a large bill. If the boat is absent, you retrace your steps along the bund instead of crossing, turning the loop into an out-and-back walk. That adds around 3 km and 50 minutes. There is no alternative crossing point. The river is deep, and swimming it is both dangerous and a trespass into active fish-farming water.

What The Poplar Strip Is

The poplar strip is a single line of trees planted along a straight bund on the northern side of the loop, parallel to the Shan Pui River. It is the most photographed feature of Nam Sang Wai, but it is a working windbreak for the fish ponds, not a landscaped avenue. The trees are narrow, spaced about 3 m apart, and their appearance changes sharply with the season. From November to March, they are bare branches, and the visual effect is stark. From April to October, they are fully leafed and the tunnel of green is at its densest. Photographers come for the symmetry at midday when the sun is overhead, but the light is flat. Morning light from the east, around 07:30 to 09:00, throws the best shadows along the strip.

Surface And Safety

The poplar strip is on a compacted earth bund with grass edges. After rain, the earth turns slick and the grass hides puddles. Wear footwear with grip. The strip is several hundred metres long, and at its southern end it connects to the wider bund network that circles the fish-pond mosaic. There is no fence, no railing, and the drop into the pond on one side is a metre. Keep children close and off the edges.

Every step you take at Nam Sang Wai is on private land under active fish-farming tenure. The bunds are open to walkers by custom, not by right. That access can be withdrawn, and it has been restricted in the past when farm operations intensify or when visitor behaviour causes damage. There are no entry gates with posted hours and no government signage confirming a right-of-way. The single-lane bridge off Castle Peak Road is the only vehicular access point for the farms, and you cross it on foot via the adjacent footbridge.

Stay on the bunds at all times. The fish ponds are stocked and the aerators are live electrical equipment. Climbing down to the water's edge, flying drones low over the ponds, or blocking the narrow bunds with tripods and photography gear interferes with the workers who maintain the ponds. You will see small trucks and motorbikes using the bunds. Step aside well before they reach you. A pond worker who has to slow down for a visitor is losing working time. Repeat that often enough, and access gets locked. The reed beds at the margins are nesting and roosting habitat. Do not push into them for a photograph.

Path Surface

The route surface changes in three distinct sections. The first stretch from the Castle Peak Road footbridge is a concrete farm road, wide enough for a small truck, with no shade. The middle section, some 2 km of bund-top walking around the fish-pond mosaic, is a mix of compacted earth bund and grass bund. This is the quietest part of the walk and also the part that turns to mud after rain. The western bund holds water and becomes slippery within an hour of a downpour. The final section, which includes the poplar strip and the approach to the former ferry crossing, is compacted earth with a grass centre ridge. In dry conditions, the entire loop is walkable in trainers. After rain, you want shoes with deep tread or you will be ankle-deep in mud on the western side.

Facilities And Mosquitoes

The only facility on the route is a portable toilet, located near the southern edge of the pond mosaic, about 1.5 km from the footbridge. Do not count on it being clean or stocked. Carry your own tissue and hand sanitiser. There is no running water anywhere on the loop.

Mosquito pressure at dusk is a genuine practical concern. From April to October, the pondscape breeds mosquitoes in the still water, and the hour before sunset is the peak feeding window. If you start the loop after 16:00 in the warm months, you will be walking through clouds of them on the western bund. Long sleeves, long trousers, and a repellent with DEET are not optional. A head net weighs 40 g and changes the experience. There is no wind on the bunds on a still summer evening, and no escape from the insects until you reach the concrete road section on the return leg.

The Nam Sang Wai fish-pond mosaic is a working landscape, not a nature reserve. The ponds are stocked with fish, the aerators run on timers, and the narrow bunds are the farm roads that workers use to move feed, equipment, and harvested fish. Your presence adds wear to the bund edges and stress to the birdlife that uses the reed beds. A few rules keep the access open.

Stay on the bunds. The grass edges are not footpaths and the ponds are not for wading. Do not fly a drone. The noise spooks the waterbirds and the pond workers, and drone use over private land without permission is a fast way to get access revoked for everyone. Do not play music on a speaker. The reed beds are quiet habitat and sound carries across the water. Do not leave rubbish. There are no bins, so carry out everything you bring in, including fruit peels and tissue. A banana skin takes two years to break down and attracts rats to the bunds.

Photography is fine, but do not block the bund. A tripod set up on a 1 m wide path stops a motorbike. Step onto the grass verge when you hear an engine and wait for it to pass. If you see a worker feeding the ponds, do not approach or attempt conversation. They are on the clock. The best thing you can do for the long-term access to Nam Sang Wai is to be invisible to the people who work there.