Friday, March 14, 2008

Wong Nai Chung Gap to Quarry Bay (Photo-essay)


Last Sunday, I went on what turned out to be the hike from hell -- one on which it is no lie or exaggeration to say that I felt on a few occasions that I was in danger of falling off a mountain and dying! With parts of my body still aching quite a bit some five days on, it's going to be a while before I feel like hiking again. (Additionally, I foresee that the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival as well as work are going to take quite a bit of time and energy out of me in the next few weeks!)

One good thing out of this is that it'll allow me to further catch up with my hike-related photo-essays. As it is, even though we're now into the third month of 2008, I still won't have finished putting up pictures taken on my 2007 hikes -- at least not until I put up this entry that features photos taking from a gentler and pleasant December hike on Hong Kong Island along portions of Sir Cecil's Ride (named after Sir Cecil Clementi, a former Governor of Hong Kong) and associated trails, including the educational Wong Nai Chung Tree Walk, that took my hiking companion on the day and I from Wong Nai Chung Gap down to Quarry Bay...

Near the start of the hike, one passes by
the grounds of the exclusive Hong Kong Cricket Club
(membership of which 'only' currently costs HK$688,000!)

Know what this plant is?
No worries if you don't because...

...on a Tree Walk such as Wong Nai Chung's,
there will be informative signs like these
that tell you what you would otherwise not know! :b

Actually, there were plenty of signs on this hike
that let one know that one really wasn't
that far away from civilization

Part of a large quarry that may have given
its name to this area (cf. Quarry Gap, Quarry Bay)

Concrete proof that humanity isn't that far away
(and, at the same time, that some Hong Kong hiking trails
really are located very close to urban space)

Alternatively, at other times on the same hike,
one could feel like one had ventured
far into an uninhabited hinterland...

A shrine to the Goddess of Mercy that
we stumbled across near the end of our hike

2 comments:

Willow said...

Oh, this is one of the riskier hiking trails? Were there warning signs at the beginning of the trail to serve to those less-experienced to think twice before embarking on this particular one?

YTSL said...

Hi Willow --

The hike that I have pictures up was an easy hike so I think you're referring to the one I briefly mentioned: in which case, oh most definitely re it being one of the riskier hiking trails -- and so risky that there weren't any signs around or pointing to it at all! In other words, while not off map, it's not on any official hiking guide book I know -- for good reason, as we/I discovered! :S