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Hiking

Hiking on century old path and in Fung Shui Woods

This hiking route is a result of serendipity. I went on a track and found that I was in the opposite direction of the planned route. Then I met a couple who are veteran hikers, and who told me that I should continue and go to Mui Tsz Lam (梅子林), one of the oldest paths in HK, and one that they enjoy so much that they come back again and again.

So this has become my route:

Ma On Shan Village (馬鞍山村), Mao Ping (茅坪), Mui Tze Lam(梅子林), Chevalier Garden (富安花園) / Tai Shui Hang (大水坑)

To arrive at Ma On Shan Village, the starting point, the easiest way is to take taxi from Ma On Shan MTR station (HK$40). Tell the driver that you want to get to the terminus of the village bus (NR84). There is a staircase next to the terminus. Follow it and then turn right. After about 20 minute walk, you will come to an intersection with a pavilion. Go the direction of Tai Shui Tseng (大水井) and Gilwell Camp(基維爾營). Soon, at your left, lies a plateau. Walk to its edge and you can have this open view: Follow the original track. At the next intersection, turn right and choose “Mui Tsz Lam” (梅子林)。If you turn left, the path will lead to Pak Kong (北港) in Sai Kung. This is actually the middle point of the old path which is at least a century old, and one of the best preserved old paths in Hong Kong. HK Government has officially named it Mui Tse Lam – Pak Kong Old Path (梅子林北港古徑), stretching between Mui Tse Lam in Ma On Shan and Pak Kong in Sai Kung.

The veteran hiking couple is right. This path is so enjoyable – green, peaceful and reminiscent of the past. Made of irregular stones, the path is preserved like a hundred years ago. Former villagers had created this path for going between Ma On Shan and Sai Kung using the stones they could find along the way, and amazingly this we can still use today. Going forward, you will pass by the abandoned Mao Ping village and come to Mui Tze Lam village.

Legacy of Mao Ping village

looking back at Mui Tze Lam village

The concrete Mui Tze Lam Road(梅子林路), next to the village, with hardly any traffic, will lead you to Chevalier Garden, a housing estate. There is a bus terminus there. Or you can continue walking to Tai Shui Hang MTR station.

The whole route is about 3 to 3.5 hours.

It must be mentioned that Mui Tsz Lam is famous for its Feng Shui Woods. Supporting 72 fung shui wood species, by far the greatest number in Hong Kong, it stands out from other Fung Shui Woods. Ancestors in Hong Kong had planted Fung Shui woods around their villages, for bringing in good Fung Shui as well as for protection of their homes from flooding, mudslides, and typhoons. These Fung Shui Woods usually have high ecological value. The Mui Tsz Lam part of the Mui Tse Lam – Pak Kong Old Path, belongs to Mui Tsz Lam Fung Shui Woods. It is why the walk there is so green and lush.

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Hiking Where to Visit

Tung Ping Chau: spectacular rock and sea erosion landscape

Tung Ping Chau is an offshore island located in the northeast corner of Hong Kong, being its most easterly point, and closer to the border with Mainland China than with the main landmass of Hong Kong. Known for strange and spectacular rock formations, it is home to some spectacular cliffs and wave-cut platforms, hardly found in the rest of Hong Kong. Unlike most other rock types in Hong Kong, Tung Ping Chau is made up of sedimentary rock and has the youngest sedimentary rock in Hong Kong.

Ping Chau has been designated one of the eight Geo-Areas of the Hong Kong National Geopark, and a Marine Park in Hong Kong, occupying a sea area of about 270 hectares enclosing the island. It is said that Tung Ping Chau is only the divable site in Hong Kong, with its rich species of coral and algae.

Historically, Tung Ping Chau was a fishing island. At its peak, there were 1500 inhabitants who had  their own local dialect call Ping Chau Language. Due to its remote location, the island is no longer inhabited.

The visit to Tung Ping Chau has got to be a day trip. There is only a ferry going to and returning from Tung Ping Chau on Saturday and Sunday : 9am departing Ma Liu Shui pier near the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and 5:15pm returning from Tung Ping Chau to the pier.

The ferry time is about 1.5 hours. Return ticket fare: HK$90. So you will have about 7 hours on the island, plenty of time to walk around. There are two restaurants on the island, to the right of the Tung Ping Chau pier. You can have lunch there.

How to get there:

a queue forms well before 9am for boarding the ferry to Tung Ping Chau at Ma Liu Shui pier

Take the exit going to Science Park at University MTR Station of the East Rail line. Follow the sign of ferry pier for going to Ma Liu Shui pier. Midway, you will need to go under and pass two tunnels before reaching the other side to arrive at the pier. Just follow the crowd. Many people go to the pier for ferry to Tung Ping Chau or other outlying islands during the weekend.

The ferry starts at 9am at Ma Liu Shui pier. The return journey is a bit tricky. The official time is 5:15pm. But when I was there last time, I was able to board the ferry at 4:45pm which started at about 4:50pm. The ferry company, it is believed, sent another smaller ferry to fetch the other people at 5:15pm.

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Hiking

Bellflower season in HK

Bellflowers are known as Chinese New Year flowers, because they bloom around Chinese New Year, which usually falls on the end of February, though this year’s Chinese New Year has come a bit early in January.

I went hiking in Sai Kung last weekend (18 February) and to my great delight and surprise, I saw bellflowers bloom on the hillside of the 408m-high Tai Cham Koi (大枕蓋). A starkly beautiful scene.My hiking route:

Sheung Yiu (上窰)- Tai Cham Koi – Luk Wu Country Trail (鹿湖郊遊徑) – Tsak Yue Wu (鲫鱼湖)

Hours taken: 4

How to get to starting point:

Take bus No. 94 or mini bus No. 7 from Sai Kung and get off at Sheung Yiu. Walk ahead along the Tai Mong Tsai Road (大網仔路) and pass by the the sign saying “MacLehose Trail Starting Point” until you see the roundabout which is an intersection between Man Yee Road (萬宜路) and Sai Wan Road西灣路). Turn to your left,  and you will see a flight of stairs up a concrete wall. Follow the stairs and all the way up, you will be on the way to Tai Cham Koi.

Initially, the climb is a bit hard as the path is filled with small broken stones and sands. Once this is overcome, the climb is generally easy. You can see High Island Reservoir and its surrounding scenic landscape on the way. The reservoir was opened in 1978 to alleviate the water shortage problem facing the city in those days.

At the peak, stands this landmark with a wonderful bird’s eye view of mountains and seas. From here, you have the first glimpse of colorful bellflowers lying in the field.

Go in the north direction (i.e. the path at your right hand side) after leaving the peak, and carry on. Bellflowers, hidden in the field, or waving at you at the side of the trail, will continue to attract your attention.Not long,  you will find Luk Wu Country Trail lying perpendicularly to the trail you walk on. A sign is put up at the junction indicating the direction of Tsak Yue Wu and Sai Wan Road. Choose Tsak Yue Wu and go downhill all the way before you come to Pak Tam Road (北潭路) where you can take bus or minibus back to Sai Kung.

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Hiking

A trail with unique landscape

Route: from Ma On Shan Village (馬鞍山村)to Shui Long Wo(水浪窩) 
Length: 8 km
The number of hours taken: 4 
Date: 24 December, 2011I was mesmerized by this hiking trail which offers breathtaking mountain view and enchanting and unique landscape of Hong Kong.

To arrive at Ma On Shan Village, the starting point, the easiest way is to take taxi from Ma On Shan MTR station (HK$40). Tell the driver that you want to get to the terminus of the village bus (NR84).

The bus village only operates three times in the morning (8am, 9am, and 10:30am) between the village and Sunshine City Bus Terminal (新港城巴士站),near the Ma On Shan MTR station. Bus fare is HK$5.

the intersection

There is a staircase next to the village bus terminus. Follow it and start your trekking. After about 20 minutes, you will come to an intersection with a pavilion, the start of the MacLehose Trail. Go the direction of Kei Ling Ha (企嶺下). This also marks the start of the MacLehose Trail’s fourth section. MacLehose Trail is a hiking trail that crosses much of New Territories, named after the longest serving Hong Kong governor Crawford Murray MacLehose.

You will soon start the ascent of a hill after leaving the intersection. The ascent is not steep, not a difficult climb.

the path after leaving the intersection

When you come to the top, you see Pyramid Hill (536m) at your right and Wan Cook Shan (Winding Hill, 592m) at your left. What a view here! The hills further from the Winding Hill are Ma On Shan (Saddle Hill,702M ).

Overlooking Ma On Shan town
Looking back at Pyramid Hill
On Winding Hill, towards Ma An Shan
The weeds at the foothill of Ma On Shan
Winding Hill with Ma On Shan at the edge

At the foothill of Ma On Shan, there is a sign pointing to Shui Long Wo. Follow it or you will have to ascend Ma On Shan. From here it is all downhill.

A glimpse of Sai Kung on the way going downhill

You will walk a tree lined path before you come to a concrete road which is the area of Wong Chuk Yueng (黃竹洋). Turn right and carry on.Then a television antenna tower appears. In its shadow lies the Chuk Yueng Road (竹洋路).Follow Chuk Yueng Road to go downhill. At the first intersection, turn left to the “Kei Ling Ha Forest Track”. There is a barricade at the start of the track to prevent vehicles from entering. So it is easy to recognize.

the Forest Track leading to Sai Sha Road

It takes about 20-30 minutes before you finally reach Sai Sha Road (西沙路) after passing by a camping site and a bbq site. At Sai Sha road, you can take No. 99 or No. 299 bus to Shatin, or Wu Kai Sha MTR station (all in one direction, with the bus stop at the side of your exit from the MacLehose Trail) or to Sai Kung, the opposite direction.

Categories
Hiking

Forest walk

Date: 17 December, 2011;Sunny
Route: Brown Walk, Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve

This place is a pleasant surprise for me. It is the best place in Hong Kong to observe bird populations of forests, and it is the first secondary forest in Hong Kong, I later learnt.

No wonder this scene is commonplace in the Reserve. So many people have come here for bird watching, including a few Japanese visitors, and for photography.

Hong Kong Government started the reforestation work in Tai Po Kau in 1926. Initially the species Chinese Red Pine was most common. Local villagers therefore named the place pine garden, or Tsung Tsai Yuen (松仔園)in Chinese. The place was declared a Nature Reserve in 1977 and the plant species has grown to over 100 now.

The place is so lush and peaceful, will vibrant biodiversity. I totally enjoyed the walk.Four walking trails of varying lengths have been designed for walkers – Yellow Walk-10km; Brown Walk-7.5km; Blue Walk-4km; Red Walk – 3km. I chose the Brown Walk, which according to the signs, can be completed in two and a half hours. But I could only finish it in three and a half hours. With trees providing shade all along, the trails here are no doubt ideal for summer walk.

the red in the forest
bamboo trees
a tree grows on the rock
a monkey resting on the bench

How to get to starting point
Take the minibus No.28k in Tai Po MTR Station, get off at Tsung Tsai Yuen (松仔園). Buses No. 72,72 A, 73A, 74A also pass by Tsung Tsai Yuen.

Tell the minibus driver that you get off at Tsung Tsai Yuen. The fare would be HK$5. Otherwise, you will be charged the full fare of the minibus.

the bus stop at Tsung Tsai Yuen

You will be dropped off at this bus station at Tsung Tsai Yuen on Tai Po Road. Walk a few steps towards the taipo direction, and you will see the entrance to and sign saying “ Tai PO Kau Nature Reserve”.

It is a 15-minute walk from the entrance to the starting point where a map and routes of the different walks are posted.

How to return to Taipo
Take the bus or minibus on Tai Po Road, in the direction of Tai Po.