A scenic Lantau Island hike (photo-essay)

At long last, I get to putting up a photo-essay of that which got my vote for best hike of 2010: one that saw my regular hiking companion and I going along the Nei Lak Shan Country Trail which had been closed for a time due to landslide damage -- and, to judge from our having only encountered one other hiker along the way, few folks seem to have realized has been re-opened.

A circular route that goes around Nei Lak Shan (which, at 751 meters (or 2,464 feet) is Hong Kong's sixth highest hill), it offers up scenic views of Ngong Ping (including the Ngong Ping 360 cable car route and the Big Buddha), Lantau Peak, Tung Chung town and more. So yes, I took plenty of photos on this hike -- of which the following are just a choice eight of them:-

Unlike just the week before, the day we hiked
the Nei Lak Shan Country Trail in its entirety
was one that was bright and clear

It looked as if the Big Buddha had blessed
the surrounding land and made it fertile and green

They may be known as common melastoma
but I still think they're worth pausing to admire
whenever I encounter these flowers

Heading towards Nei Lak Shan along the part of
the rerouted Lantau Trail Stage 4 that
lies between Ngong Ping Village and the high hill

On Nei Lak Shan Country Trail looking back
at the trail that had brought us there
(and the Big Buddha in the far distance)

Looking down at an area of landslide damage
and ahead to part of the cable car route

A view that had been entirely obscured
by mist one week earlier

A little further along the trail, one's view is dominated
by Lantau Peak, Hong Kong's second highest
mountain with a peak 934 meters above sea level

To be continued -- for sure! :)