Exploration
This couple climbed around the edge of Hong Kong to help fight pollution
'Taking out the trash' takes on a whole new meaning for Paul Niel and Esther Röling.
For some people, climbing out of bed is their idea of an adventure. For others, climbing a real-life, outdoor rock face is their idea of an adventure.
And then there’s Paul Niel and Esther Röling. For this Hong Kong-based couple, 'adventure' involves climbing around the entire coastline of Hong Kong in one fell swoop (all 80 kilometres of it) and mapping all of the main sites of coastal pollution as they go.
Paul, originally from Austria, and Esther, originally from the Netherlands, are both passionate climbers and travellers (even their baby daughter has visited 25+ countries), and fancied embarking on an adventure on their adopted doorstep. As well as mapping the pollution with a view to running regular cleanup events after their trip, they employed the assistance of a local university to help them gauge ocean water quality along the way.
The result? A world-first, adrenaline-fueled, sustainably-minded adventure that saw them battle once-in-a-decade storms, insane currents, security guards and oil spills. The couple completed the epic, week-long journey in May this year and held their very first Action Adventure Cleanup in October. RedBull.com caught up with Paul to find out more.
Esther flexes those ankles
© Courtesy of Paul Niel
Where did the inspiration from this circumnavigation of Hong Kong come from? What made you want to do it?
The idea was born out of the desire to have an adventure on our doorstep. Too often have we gone travelling to remote countries – this time we really wanted to do something at home, a real adventure. Hong Kong – with its unique combination of urban metropolis, dense jungle and steep cliffs – was the ideal backdrop for it.
It was pretty scary to have lightning strikes to our left and right, knowing that we needed to swim 50 metres to the next cliff.
I know this trip wasn’t purely for the sake of adventure — can you tell me a bit about the environmental inspirations for the trip?
What started out as an adventure became very quickly a bigger thing. Right from the start, we realised that the pollution along stretches of the coast – in particular plastic and Styrofoam – is quite bad. Together with Ocean Recovery Alliance, a global NGO that focuses on clean oceans, we found a way to record trash hotspots by utilising the Global Alert app.
The couple mapped the worst trash spots as they went
© Courtesy of Paul Niel
We also learnt that no consistent measures of water quality are taken along the Hong Kong coastline. That allowed us to bring the Open University Hong Kong on board, who undertook 50 water samples along the coastline with the aim of hopefully giving us new insights into water quality, nutrients and pollutants.
What was the purpose of mapping all of the trash spots as you went?
Most of the existing focus on coastal trash is around areas that are easy accessible – beaches etc. On our adventure, we had the unique chance to also record and map all the trash and pollution that accumulates off more remote areas – cliffs, bays, sea caves and inlets. We used this data to create a unique coastal pollution map of Hong Kong that details the extent of the issue.
You had your first clean-up recently, right? How did that go?
Yes, in November we undertook our first Action Adventure Coastal Cleanup. A group of volunteers climbed down a cliff on the eastern side of Hong Kong island and began cleaning out heaps of coastal pollution. We used kayaks and a rib to get the trash out, and it was all undertaken during quite rough conditions!
Volunteers help clean up during the first Action Adventure Cleanup in HK
© Courtesy of Paul Niel
Teamwork is the dreamwork at the Action Adventure Cleanup
© Courtesy of Paul Niel
#SquadGoals at the Action Adventure Cleanup
© Courtesy of Paul Niel
A novel way to take out the trash
© Courtesy of Paul Niel
What were your main aims with this trip?
We wanted complete the first continuous coasteering trip around the entire island (around 80 kilometres), to create a consistent map of coastal pollution spots along the island and to map water quality at regular intervals. We also wanted to produce a documentary that showcased the adventure and the unique contrasts and beauty of Hong Kong coast, as well as the people living along it.
What kind of gear did you guys take with you?
Too much! The bags always felt too heavy. There is no specific coasteering gear, so we had to take whatever we could find. We used canyoning shoes, quick-drying climbing clothes, durable waterproof bags, and the most important bit of safety equipment were the ultra-light throw-lines (used in kayaking), that we also used for repelling.
And for the pollution mapping we had to carry a heavy water measuring device and test tubs that we filled up with water. Vaseline turned out to be our most important piece of kit – saltwater tends create extremely bad chafing when you are out day after day!
Time to cool down
© Courtesy of Paul Niel
Did the adventure turn out harder than you expected? Did anything go wrong? What were the biggest challenges you had to overcome?
Mother nature definitely threw us some surprises. The biggest surprise happened when we encountered the heaviest rain showers Hong Kong had seen in ten years, on the second day of our trip. It caught us totally off guard, and we had been studying the weather for weeks!
It definitely made us think about all the rubbish we produce every day – every bottle we hold in our hands, every package, every bit of plastic. There are so many things we can do when it comes to recycling and reducing the amount of plastic you use.
Even more than the rain, it was the thunderstorm and the lightning that came with it, just when we wanted to climb the hardest section of the entire coastline. It was pretty scary to have lightning strikes to our left and right, knowing that we needed to swim 50 metres to the next cliff. We made it through though, and in the end it made us tougher.
As well as that storm, we also had to encounter strong currents pulling us out into ocean, security guards chasing us away from premises, and swimming through oil spills while crossing a local marina.
The couple's final camping spot
© Courtesy of Paul Niel
Did the adventure change the way you think or feel about anything?
It definitely made us think about all the rubbish we produce every day – every bottle we hold in our hands, every package, every bit of plastic. There are so many things we can do when it comes to recycling and reducing the amount of plastic we use. Even just small things, like taking your own bag when you go shopping.
As a team – doing such an adventure as a husband and wife is always very special, it teaches you a lot. It’s about working to each other’s strengths and dividing the load, as well as constantly communicating and motivating each other.
A bit of bouldering never hurt anybody...
© Courtesy of Paul Niel
What was the most rewarding aspect of the trip?
The most rewarding aspect from the trip was to get to see Hong Kong island, our home, from so many different angles, and to discover hidden gems just at our doorstep. From a bigger picture perspective, it's the effort and all the people we connected with to work on cleaning up all the trash and rubbish we located.
Do you have any other adventures planned?
There are always a few other adventures in the back of our minds! But the next one would probably leave the coast behind and focus more on the mountains. There are still so many amazing peaks to be climbed.