In Search Of The Lion

Hong Kong is full of hills, low and short enough to be summited in half a day. Lion Rock is one of them, a very walkable hill about 495m high, rated as number 52 highest out of 131 hills in HK (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains,_peaks_and_hills_in_Hong_Kong).

This post is not about directions on how to get to the peak. There are already a number of blog posts on directions, one of the better ones (which I referred to) is this post by Jean-Christophe Clement: http://hikehongkong.blogspot.hk/2011/11/lion-rock.htm. It gives you a very easy to follow step-by-step guide on how to get there and back. I'll instead take you through the experiences and sights of my 4-hr trek, from Wong Tai Sin MTR Station to the peak and back.

Following the directions out of Wong Tai Sin MTR Station, we started our 1hr hike to the trail entrance. What the blog doesn't say is the hike to the trail entrance is mostly upslope. Although it was a paved road, the very warm day which we chose to hike in made it more tiring than it should be. 

Sunny day for a hike

Best day for hanging clothes out to dry

My OB Australia Journey - A Dog named Scout

Scout was a dog that followed us from the 3^rd day of our trekking expedition. We didn’t know her name, but she was always walking just ahead of us like a little scout. Scout would follow us over 2 days, over 30km. She didn’t know where we’re going, nor when we will rest. Neither does she know whether there will be food for her. Nevertheless, she chose to follow us on our adventure through the bushes, which also became her adventure. She was as part of the watch as anyone else. Scout wasn’t a young dog anymore, the big tumour she carries on her belly hints of her old age. Perhaps she knows she does not have long to live, so she decided to live like everyday is her last, to the fullest. She also shivers at night after the sun has set, braving the cold like the rest of us. She reminds me of the famous quote by Helen Keller, “Life is either a Daring Adventure or Nothing At All”.

This is the Outward Bound dog named Scout.

Faithfully trekking with us

My OB Australia Journey – Lessons from the Trail

The first multi-day expedition was to trek through the Australian bush. Weather was definitely much more comfortable than in hot and humid Singapore, although it could get pretty cold if we stopped moving for long. I love trails, and there are many lessons we could learn from the trail.

(50th Post Special) My OB Australia Journey - Mount Warning

“Hey guys, we’re doing a summit climb tomorrow. Be ready for bus pickup at 3am.”

Erm, what?? We are doing a summit climb on the 2^nd day of programme?? Talk about Expect the Unexpected! This wasn't particularly good news as I couldn't sleep at all on the plane the previous night. 

Mount Warning – a 1159m high mountain in New South Wales formed from a volcanic plug, overlooking the eastern coast, Byron Bay and the Indian Ocean. It was known as Wollumbin by the Bandjalung aboriginals and it was a sacred mountain, used for many of their rites and ceremonies. Many years later, Captain James Cook sailed to Australia and named it Mount Warning as it served as a warning to sailors of the perilous rocks ahead. The first summit climb by westerners took 3 days, but now tourists can hike up in about an hour.

10 days with Outward Bound Taiwan

This post is specially dedicated to the 10 heroes and heroines from Nanyang Polytechnic 

Day 1 

Arrived at Taoyuan International Airport where we were greeted by our OBT instructors Eddie and Hardy. Eddie introduced himself as Ed, and he's Hardy (Ed Hardy perfume), but we didn't get it so he just stuck with Eddie. Weather was cool with a bit of sunrays, we were told those few days were the best weather in a week, but will turn for the worse in a couple of days' time. One of the highlights of OBT has to be the food! Almost every breakfast and dinner is cooked and it's always yummy!

Highlight: The dinner! 

Arrival at Outward Bound Taiwan

Tahan Trekking Club

I was teacher in-charge of a CCA (school interest group) known as the Tahan Trekking Club! Yes there was a club named after the mountain. Apart from other smaller mountains such as Ophir and Stong, summiting Gunung Tahan was seen as the milestone in their club experience, a graduation climb. These young men and women, 17 years old, would scale Gunung Tahan after just 6 months of intense training, the mountain that strikes fear even into seasoned trekkers. And they would only take the Classic Trail, Kuala Tahan to Kuala Tahan, all 110km. 

The tradition of the club dates back to 1976. Then, the new Hwa Chong Junior College wanted to set itself apart from the rest and make a name of itself and decided to send a group of 8 boys 2 girls to scale the highest peak in Peninsula Malaysia. Led by its founder Dr Quek Jin Jong, who was Assistant Head of Physical Education, they embarked on a 7-day journey into the unknown. None of them had any trekking experience, they weren't even sure what kind of shoes to use. In an interview with Dr Quek many years later, he recalled a moment when the trek almost didn't happen. As the team camped in the Taman Negara national park, just near the start point of the trek, some of them encountered a man whose upper body was covered in leeches. The blood on his body was enough to stun them into thinking twice about setting foot in the forest. Dr Quek recalled, "At that point, if I had said, 'Let's go back', I think the rest would have readily gone back home." He didn't, so they stayed, to complete the trip and started a legacy. 

Clockwise from top left: 3rd batch, 1978, 3rd batch crossing log bridge, 29th batch in front of minimart

I love HK - Dragon's Back Trail

What's the one thing that you must do while in HK? Eating? Shopping? Ok those too, so what are the 3 things you must do in HK besides eating and shopping? Trekking of course! HK has 4 main trails, namely Maclehose (100km), Wilson (78km), Lantau (70km) and Hong Kong (50km). Each of them is  breath-taking, relatively accessible by public transport and has their easy/difficult sections. The last time I posted on the Wilson Trail Section 7, one of my favourite. Having done parts of Wilson and Maclehose Trails (and flew over parts of Lantau Trail by cable car), I decided to tryout HK Trail this time. 

Stage	Route	Length (km)	Time (hr)	Difficulty
1	The Peak → Pok Fu Lam Reservoir	7.0	2.0
2	Pokfulam Reservoir → Peel Rise	4.5	1.5
3	Peel Rise → Wan Chai Gap	6.5	1.75
4	Wan Chai Gap → Wong Nai Chung Road	7.5	2.0
5	Wong Nai Chung Road → Mount Parker Road	4.0	1.5
6	Mount Parker Road → Tai Tam Road	4.5	1.5
7	Tai Tam Road → To Tei Wan	7.5	2.0
8	To Tei Wan → Tai Long Wan	8.5	2.75

HK Trail proper starts from The Peak all the way to Tai Long Wan. The last section, Section 8, was declared by Time's Magazine as the Best Urban Hike in Asia (22 Nov 2004 Asia issue). It was dubbed Dragon's Back as the trail path connecting Wan Cham Shan (226m) and Shek O Peak (284m). The path undulates between these hill tops, reminiscent of the shape of a dragon's backbone. 


Getting to the start point was easy. Take MTR to Shau Kei Wan on HK Island, then hop onto bus 9 at the bus terminal beside the MTR station. Alight at To Tei Wan - Shek O Rd bus stop (there's a screen at the front of the bus to tell you the next stop). Good idea to take a picture of the journey you will be taking so you know roughly when to alight. Oh you should get your food and water around the bus terminal if you haven't already done so. 

Wilson Trail Section 7

Somehow I have this affection for Hong Kong, maybe contributed by the fact that I grew up watching cantonese TVB serials with my mum and listening to songs from Anita Mui, Alan Tam, Sam Hui....you know what I mean. I also used to spend my entire school holidays in HK when my mum was working there. And this is my 3rd consecutive December in HK.

Anyway, this post is about Wilson Trail in Hong Kong. More specifically, it's about Section 7, which is probably one of the most scenic along Wilson Trail. It starts around the Shing Mun Dam area, northwards along the beautiful Shing Mun Reservoir, through the forested Shing Mun Country Park and ends at Tai Po town. We only had a day (actually we expected half a day to complete) so yah, 1 section is probably enough.

The adventure starts the moment we exited from the MTR. The instructions we had says exit from MTR station and take minibus 82....but from where?? It wasn't from the street directly below the station. We asked a "Hongkonger-looking" passer-by and he brought us along the street, crossed a road and into another street. Wow, there you are...82 bus stop!