Tuesday, February 11, 2014

An upper Northeast New Territories hike (Photo-essay)

As I write this, the Weather Underground of Hong Kong website has it that it's 1.8 degrees Celsius up on Ngong Ping (and actually -4.3 degrees Celsius after factoring in wind chill)!  Even at sea level, it's on the distinctly cold side -- e.g., it's currently 6 degrees Celsius in Tsuen Wan, 6.6 degrees Celsius in Sha Tin and 7.5 degrees Celsius in Shau Kei Wan.

In contrast, the maximum temperature on the summer's day that the photos in the photo-essay below were taken was 34 degrees Celsius!  Consequently, even though the fire lookout my hiking buddy and I climbed up that day is only atop a 300 meter high hill up in northeast Hong Kong, trust me when I say that we felt quite a sense of achievement -- as well as were bathed in sweat -- when we got up there.  And while the trail after we got down to Kuk Po was on the level side, the lack of tree and other overhead cover in the area is something that both my friend and I aren't going to be forgetting any time soon... ;b

I didn't realize it when I took this photo but the 
 
 The view southwards from the hill takes in part of  

The view north from the fire lookout takes in the
Starling Inlet and, across it, mainland China

A well worn village path takes one down the northern 
side of the hill to the largely abandoned hamlet of

One would think that a beautiful building in a scenic location
would not be left abandoned but one would be wrong!

In this part of Hong Kong, one is as -- if not more -- likely to
come across feral cows than one's fellow humans!

With the help of my zoom lens, Shenzhen really doesn't look
that far away from the shores of Hong Kong where I stood
when taking this photo!

Concluding with another bug pic -- this one of a critter 
whose shape got me thinking it's some type of wasp but whose
shiny nature I found very unusual as well as eye-catching...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

They are much worse than ordinal wasps or hornets. The sting of that shinning black bug is quite poisonous. It might cause extensive pain and swollen limbs at best, and could cause shock and might be fatal as worst.

Don't irritate them. If one of these bugs stings you, the rest of the school nearby will follow suit.

Got an old news clip about them: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20101022/14580039

Thanks & Best Regards,
T

Bill said...

Hi Yvonne,

Second photo from the top is the one for me. A view of part of Pat Sin Leng, Plover Cove Reservoir, Tolo Harbour and Ma On Shan - all in one photo! What more could a photographer-hiker ask for?

Bill

YTSL said...

Hi T --

You inspired me to research more on wasps in Hong Kong -- and I've found there are quite a few species, and that they indeed aren't all just predominantly yellow in color!

http://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/safefood/handbook_wasps_hk/handbook_wasps_hk_01-10.pdf

http://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/safefood/handbook_wasps_hk/handbook_wasps_hk_11-21.pdf

Hi Bill --

I wish there were (more) days in Hong Kong when it could be pleasantly cool AND have great visibility. But it often seems like it's more a case of either-or than both! ;(