To and at Shek Lung Kung on a great summer hiking day

This tiny butterfly makes up in beauty what it 

lacks in size -- and the flower's pretty too! :)

 

A brighter colored cricket than those I'm used to seeing

 

Rather than interesting critters though, the visual highlight of the day

has to be the panoramic view from Shek Lung Kung (Do click 

on the photo to get a better idea of how beautiful it was out there today!)

 

Today was exactly the kind of day that the hills of Hong Kong call out to me.  Yes, the Hong Kong Observatory issued a "very hot weather warning" early on but its main page also contained information that it also was a very high visibility day -- with it being possible to see as far as 40-45 kilometers in parts of the territory!

 

With the promise of stupendous views to be had, a friend and I made for one of my favorite spots in Hong Kong to get panoramic views of the Big Lychee that, on a day like this, stretched from as far east as Tung Lung Chau all the way west to Lantau Island, and also took in the likes of Hong Kong Island, Lamma and Peng Chau.

 

Unlike the sections of Victoria Peak where one can get pretty impressive views too, Shek Lung Kung, which lies along the Yuen Tsuen Ancient Trail, is not the easiest place to get to -- in that it's only accessible to those willing to hike a few kilometers to it.  And unlike much of the rest of Tai Lam Country Park, it's not a particular shady place to be -- and thus would not be some people's first choice place to be on a super sunny summer's day!  

Yet my feeling is that few people who take the trouble to venture out there on a day where there's a high degree of visibility -- of which there unfortunately aren't that many in other seasons besides summer here in Hong Kong -- will regret doing so.  And today, my friend and I enjoyed the additional bonus of having no small amount of critter spotting success earlier on in our hike to that natural panoramic viewpoint -- with lots of butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers and crickets, arachnids small and large, and a large -- but unfortunately not photogenic! -- beatle revealing themselves to us while we were traipsing along in the more foliage heavy parts of the country park!

 

All in all, we managed to get in a a really lovely excursion this afternoon.  And to think that quite a few people in Hong Kong refuse to hike during summer days like this... Honestly, I don't think they know what they're missing out -- not only on a good afternoon worth of invigorating exercise and healthy sweating but also some truly beautiful views and interesting sights!