Plover Cove Country Trail (船灣郊野公園)

Duration: 

(19 kilometers)
7 hours

Difficulty: 7/10. For distance and terrain.

Appreciation: 9/10. You'll also have a bonus waterfall start (Bride's Pool and Mirror Pool)

Transportation: Tai Po MTR station, exit A1. Take bus 275R on a Sunday or public holiday (doesn't run any other day). Return to TaI Po MTR station via bus 75k at the end of the trail.

Why it's worth it:

Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/436322856
(Ignore the abnormal little turn and skip 12 minutes into the trail on my Garmin map.We took a wrong turn there. Rest is fine)

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You will get off 275R at the bus terminus @ Bride's Pool. Then cross the road and go down by the picnic areas, over the stream and towards the other picnic area. You'll get here. Head right and up. (If you have a few minutes, you can instead go left and spend some time at Mirror Pool, just 3 minutes away. It is quite pretty)

You'll reach an intersection, go left and up on a path that zig-zags up.

Right after the zig-zag climb, you'll get to this intersection.
Head left (as our model Anthony make obvious on this picture ;-) )

You'll then go by the big, obvious Plover Cover Reservoir Country Trail sign that you cannot miss. That's the trail head. Off you go on your 7 hours adventure... The trail is obvious and there's not really and side-paths so no chances of getting lost there.

About 4, 4.5 hours along the way, you'll get to this intersection. The only point really where you could wonder which way to turn. Turn right! The rest is obvious. Be careful as the terrain gets really slippery.
The bus terminus is just a few minutes walk after the last dam.

High Junk Peak (釣魚翁) Country Trail, and Miu Tsai Tun (廟仔墩)

(Updated: 2021-02-16)

Duration: 7km. Easy route: 3 hours. Scenic route: 3h45.

Difficulty:

Easy route:  5/10. 285m elevation gain.

Scenic route: 8/10. 348m elevation gain. But the high rating is based on the slippery path down High Junk Peak.

Cel phone coverage: 80% coverage.

Water needs: 1.5 liter. 60% shaded. 

Appreciation: 8/10 for the easy route, 9/10 for the scenic route. Great views and an optional seafood dinner or lunch at the end in Po Toi O. 

Map & Details: 
Easy route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/268656056

Scenic route: https://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/5481565603

Exercise Area: No

Transportation:  If you are in Kowloon, take the MTR to Choi Hung, exit C2, then Take KMB bus 91 (stop is called Ngau Chi Wan Village but it is at the MTR station), get off at Ng Fai Tin stop. If you are on Hong Kong Island, take the MTR to Tseung Kwan O. Take green minibus 103/103M. It stops at the same place but you may have to let the driver know.

There's just one return minibus, #16 in Po Toi O, which gets busy on weekends. It will bring you back to Tseung Kwan O, at the Hang Hau MTR station.

Why it's worth it:

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Trail starts at the pavilion on Clear Water Bay road. The minibus/bus stop is just in front. There's a car park so it is quite easy to spot.

Cross the road to the pavilion. You can check the map out before you start your trek.

At the beginning of the trail, there's a lot of other trails and bike trails crossing. Just keep going straight. You follow the signs for the pedestrian country trail to Tai Miu, not the bike trail

Again, always follow the Country trail signs and you should not run into any problems.

This is the critical spot in the hike. About 40-50 minutes into the hike and 1.7km from the start. If you head right. that is the the Easy way which bypasses Miu Tsai Tun and High Junk Peak. If you head left, passed the barrier, it is a bit more climbing, a bit more treacherous on the way down, but the views are much more impressive.

If you chose the Scenic path, you will get here, with a superb view of High Junk Peak ahead.

View from atop High Junk Peak

After you descent from Hugh Junk Peak, you will reach this point with a trail map, where 4 paths meet. including the 'Easy' path. Whether you come from the Easy or Scenic path, just follow the path that is to the immediate left of the trail map.

Clear water bay. Water is is amazingly clear

Po Toi O is in sight. Quite pretty. You can see the #16 green minibus stop by the village from this vantage point. You still have about 1km to go however.

Almost there

At the end of the country trail, head left on the road, then right at the first crossroad, towards Po Toi O. You are just 10 minutes away from the minibus bus stop

Minibus #16 stop in Po Toi O.