Tuesday, July 26, 2016

High points of a hike on Lantau's Chi Ma Wan peninsula (Photo-essay)

Whenever I get to the top of a Hong Kong mountain and hill, I expect to find a trigonometrical station atop it.  Over the years, I've also come across signal stations, fire lookouts and even old military installations such as the ruined redoubt on Devil's Peak adorning a Hong Kong hill- or mountain-top.  But up until I hiked up to the highest points of Lantau's Chi Ma Wan peninsula, it had only been in Japan where I saw shrines adorning the top of a hill.

What with the afternoon's hike route also taking the friend I was with and I past a small reservoir and a couple of disused prisons as well as yielding up some cool critter spottings and scenic vistas, there really were plenty of interesting sights to be had.  So suffice to say that I was clicking away quite a bit with my camera while on Chi Ma Wan peninsula -- and, actually, was doing so on the 30 minute or so trek from the nearest bus station to the beginning of the trail that took us to this remote section of Hong Kong! ;b    

Atop the rocky hill pictured above is a shrine...
 
Many scenic vistas are to be had on the way up 
the Chi Ma Wan peninsula's second highest hill :)

There's a trigonometrical station along with a shrine
up on 301-meter-high Miu Tsai Tun

On an afternoon where the clouds were on the low-lying side, 
I was glad we weren't climbing to much higher ground that day
 
 I must admit to not being too happy to discover 
that we actually had go down many steps before 
we could begin our ascent up the neighboring hill! ;(

The fire lookout on 303-meter-high Lo Yan Shan
doesn't look like it's manned all year round...
 

...and it also is one of those parts of the Big Lychee
where skink spottings can be made! :)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

I have been to a near identical Fire Lookout at Tai Mo Shan. It is on a slope facing Tsuen Wan generally. That one appeared to have another small store room about 20 or 30 metres away.

I was lucky for one of such trips as the shutters had been removed despite there was nobody inside. It is a self contain concrete hut without running water. They have electrocity though. There is a bunk bed, an L-shape bench or two long tables along two sides of the walls\windows.

Might be quite scary at night, especially if a thunderstorm is brewing.

T

Bill said...

Hi YTSL,

As usual, your photos and text describe a hike that delivers rewards: the vistas from rocky hills, an interesting shrine enclosed by layered rocks, the rocks in the second photo from the bottom and the skink, representing the living inhabitants of this trail.

In a used bookstore here in Fl, I recently purchased two excellent HK-related books: Pete Spurrier's The Serious Hiker's Guide to HK and The Leisurely Hiker's Guide to HK.

Bill

YTSL said...

Hi T --

From this and some of your previous comments, I get the feeling that you've hiked on and around Tai Mo Shan quite a bit over the years! And yeah, I wouldn't care to be up on Tai Mo Shan at night... ;b

Hi Bill --

I'm glad you like this photo-essay -- and hope that you've got your computer repaired/replaced! And oh wow re a couple of Pete Spurrier's books having made it to Florida. From the sound of it, you've got quite a nice collection of books on Hong Kong... :)

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

It was a few recent hikes that I have been to the Fire Lookout on Tai Mo Shan. For three times, I think, back in March and April. The last one being http://gwulo.com/node/31911

T

YTSL said...

Hi again T --

Next time I go up Tai Mo Shan, I will try to keep a look out for the area landmarks you've mentioned! :)