November 28, 2021
Before I describe my experience, This site has more details of Kenting.
For streaming video, this (below) is an introduction: like me, the Western couple were discovering Kenting for the first time. The video continues for an extra two parts.
On Saturday the weather was hot and humid; I could feel that I’m in the tropics – the Tropic of Cancer runs through Chiayi, nearly 200km to the north.
I had a late breakfast in a cafe just down the main road from my hotel, where they advertised “Australian burgers” – extra large meat patties for that Australian flavour.
I walked to the edge of town, a few hundred metres, and found Kenting Arch (above) with a mountain behind it, a landmark.
Behind was the beach (photo above). The manager of my hotel had warned me about a strong wind, but I didn’t appreciate how strong it was – a howling gale. Later I learned strong winds such as this are common in winter.
Another photo, this time standing on the beach. In my estimation this is among the best beaches in Taiwan. Australians would laugh patronizingly, but I have come to realize Australia has some of the best beaches in the world.
The red triangular flag fling in the above photo I think is an indication not to swim; none of the people were in the water.
I was standing there just behind the tide line, hat planted firmly on head, when suddenly a violent gust of wind stuck me. My hat flew off my head and into the ocean, swallowed up by a crashing wave. I immediately raced into the water, regardless of my backpack or computer, the ocean coming up to my knees. Miraculously I saw my hat coming towards me on a wave, and just managed to snare it. The water around my shins was warm, like a bath. I retreated out of the ocean holding my soaking wet hat and returned to my hotel.
I was interested in going to Eluanbi and the most southerly point in Taiwan.
“Éluánbí is the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of its Chinese name 鵝鑾鼻. These characters literally mean ‘Goose Bell Nose’, but actually transcribe the local Hokkien pronunciation Gô-lôan, used as a transliteration of the Paiwan goran (‘sail’). This may be a reference to nearby Sail Rock. The ‘nose’ in the name is a dialectical term for a cape, as in nearby Cape Maobitou.” (from https://www.wander.am/travel/eluan-10060/places/southernmost-point-of-taiwan-84444.en.html)
The manager of my hotel gave me a lift in her car (where this photo was taken) which was an extremely nice thing to do. We went past Chuanfan Rock (Sail Rock) on the way.
The manager spoke Mandarin with a hint of English, while I’m the reverse; we could communicate but it’s difficult. So the manager dropped me off at the entrance to Eluanbi Lighthouse, good enough. The photo above is of the entrance-way just after the ticketing booth.
The Eluanbi Lighthouse.
The surroundings were quite crowded. The strong wind made everything difficult
I didn’t go into the lighthouse itself, something I’ve come to regret because I found out later it has a museum inside.
Instead I wanted to see the most southerly point in Taiwan. I saw a path that led to the ocean in a southerly direction so followed that. The photo above was the result.
So I followed a chain of paths for half a kilometer, through enormous boulders of jagged limestone the size of a house, covered in thick jungle. I eventually took the above photo on a treetop viewpoint. The prominent precipitous mountain marks (I think) Kenting’s location.
I didn’t get to visit the most southerly point of Taiwan (though here’s an account of it). I went back to Kenting via a taxi (cost $AUS12.50).
That night the main street at Kenting converted into a night market; the market stalls line both sides of the street, while traffic flows between them – apparently this is a regular occurrence.
Wandering Richard 