ISLANDS

The Hong Kong SAR includes about 260 islands, with the two major islands being Lantau and Hong Kong. Many of the outlying islands are inhabitated and served by numerous ferries. I was fortunate to hike on three of the islands - Lantau, as previously described in the Sunset Peak entry, Chueng Chau and Lamma. I guess you could also count Hong Kong if walking around Central is 'hiking.' Andy Smith, Shawn Yoon and I visited Chueng Chau, and went on a long hike around half of the island, up some peaks, and as shown below, around a rocky point. I opted out of the rocky point - looked too much like I could die. I visited Lamma with my cousin Steve Heller and Marilyn. On both of the islands, we concluded our outing with a great seafood dinner.

Andy and Shawn on Chueng Chau

The Adventurous Duo

The Village of Sok Kwu Wan on Lamma Island
Steve and Marilyn Strolling a Lamma Beach

CONSTRUCTION

In one of my early blogs on Hong Kong, I mentioned how strange it was to see high-rise construction cranes surrounded by bamboo scaffolding. Recently a construction project was begun to add a tenth floor to the building where my office is located - so I got some photos of the action. The first photo shows the super-sturdy walkway that was built to protect pedestrians. I could hardly believe that it was going to be a temporary structure as I watched it being built - cement with rebar; steel I-beams welded in place; corrugated steel wall; steel plates for roofing. The fellows put up the scaffolding in a couple of days, and one nice thing about using bamboo - if the length is not quite right, just cut it off to fit!!

ALONG THE MACLEHOSE TRAIL

Lion Rock

The prominent peak straight north of the HKBU campus is Lion Rock. Stage 5 of the 100 kilometer [62 mile] MacLehose Trail passes just behind Lion Rock. The MacLehose winds its way along the rugged range that more-or-less separates the Kowloon Peninsula on the south from the New Territories to the north. It undulates with many ups and downs from Pak Tam Chung on the east end to Tuen Mun on the west, and it is comprised of 10 sections. There is an annual Trail run/hike for 700 teams that attempt to complete the trail in less than 48 hours. The leading groups finish in well under 24 hours.

From campus, a 20 minute walk will get you to the trailhead of a stone path that goes from Lion Rock Park to the Trail. Another 20 minutes of fairly steep grade will get you to Kowloon Pass and the intersection with the Trail on Stage 5. Here one has several choices - head west toward Beacon Hill and Sections 4-1; head east toward Sections 6-10; start to the east, and then break off on the trail that goes to the summit of Lion Rock; or go straight on a trail that leads to Amah Rock. Below are some pictures related to each of these choices.

Kowloon Pass Looking Out on Kowloon Tong

This is the decision point - if one needs a bit of time to ponder which way to go, there are a couple of shelters available for contemplation. Let's first head toward Beacon Hill

The path to Beacon Hill

One of the Beacons

The trail toward Amah Rock with Amah in the distance. The legend is that a woman holding her child stood on the ridge, awaiting the husband's return from the sea. He never returned and she and the child turned to stone.


Amah Rock

The trail toward Lion Rock - for those familiar with running in Colorado Springs, this is rather like a hybrid between a Garden trail and the 16 Golden Stairs

The summit of Lion Rock


Just like in the Rockies, wildlife can be seen along the Trail :-)