Gaomei Wetlands

Gaomei is a wide flat at the mouth of the Dajia river where sand, mud and reed bed meet the Taiwan Strait, protected as a wildlife reserve and reached by a straight timber boardwalk that runs several hundred metres out over the flats. At low tide the mud is alive: fiddler crabs waving one oversized claw, mudskippers propping themselves up in the shallows, and in winter waders and gulls working the surface. A line of white wind turbines stands along the shore behind, and their scale is what makes the photographs, particularly when the sun drops into the strait and the wet mud goes the colour of the sky. Walking on the flats themselves is allowed only in a marked area and only at certain times.

What you actually see

• The boardwalk - a straight timber walk running several hundred metres out over the mudflats.
• Fiddler crabs and mudskippers - dense life on the mud at low tide, visible from the rail.
• The wind turbines - a line of white towers along the shore, the scale marker in every photograph.
• Sunset over the strait - wet mud mirroring the sky as the sun drops into the sea.

When to go

Sunset is the point, and everybody knows it, so the boardwalk is full for the hour before dusk. Time your visit to a falling or low tide, because at high water the flats are simply covered. The boardwalk closes at set times and in strong winds. Winter brings migratory birds but also a cold, hard wind off the strait.

Honest expectations

At sunset the boardwalk is shoulder to shoulder and the return walk is a slow shuffle. If you arrive at high tide there is nothing to see but water. The wind here is relentless and cold in winter. Public transport requires a train plus a bus with modest frequency, parking fills, and there is little shelter or shade anywhere on the site.

Nearby

Qingshui town is inland and the Taichung harbour area is south along the coast.