Rhino rock in Stanley (斜炮頂), Turtle rock, and St.Stephen beach

Duration: 

1 hour (2 km)

Difficulty: 7/10. Slippery slopes

Cel phone coverage: Everywhere

Water needs: 0.5 liter

Appreciation: 8/10. Nice views. A rock rhino head!

Transportation: Take bus 14 from Sai Wan Ho MTR station, Exit A (stop is right at the exit). Get off at the end stop, Stanley Fort. Return by either walking to Stanley and then taking whichever bus you want, or again, taking bus 14 back to Sai Wan Ho.

Details: http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/1895842028/

Why it's worth it:

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The trail head is right by bus 14's final stop (Stanley Fort). These are military barracks.

Take the path up at the left of the gate

The path follows the fence

After about a 10 minutes climb, you'll have reached the top of the hill.

Take a right through the bushes

Left immediately into the bushes

The view will open up. Head to the right of the big round rock

You can see the path at this point, just follow. I circled your destination*

You'll reach this point where there's a fork. On your left, you can see the 'turtle rock' from where the peeps on the picture are. It is displayed on the second photo from my title picture at the top of this blog entry. You have to have a bit of imagination. This is not the rhino rock. To go to the rhino rock, head right...

This is the rhino rock from behind

There ya go! This one, no imagination required; quite a good rendition.

With the Stanley prison in the background. When you are done taking half a million pictures, retrace your steps all the way back to the top of the hill where you found the marker...

Here... So, you can always retrace your steps back to the end-stop of bus 14. But instead, I suggest, you go around the little building to discover some more cool stuff...

A little gem of a bamboo jungle!

Left, behind the big rock

You'll see a water pipe, just follow it on the right. It will lead you to the road. Head right on the road until you reach the bus stop to return to Sai Wan Ho. Alternately, you can go down to the beach!

St,Stephen's beach. Quite pretty

Wilson Trail Section 1 (The Twins & Violet Hill)

Duration: 

(5 kilometers)
2.5 hours

Difficulty: 7/10. 631m elevation gain

Cel phone coverage: Everywhere

Water needs: 1.5 liter

Appreciation: 8.5/10. Great views

Transportation: CTB bus 6 from Exchange Square. Get off at "Wilson Trail, Stanley Gap Road". Do not take 6x; while it will get you within 1km of the trailhead, there are no sidewalks so it is not a good idea. Return via CTB bus 6 at Wong Nai Chung Gap Road

Why it's worth it:

Garmin: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/730749304

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The "Wilson Trail, Stanley Gap Road" stop. Abundant signage of the trail-head can be found here. Take a moment to reflect on the history of the Country Parks and trails of Hong Kong...

Then start your climb up. There will be a lot of steps!

Keep going on the right of Water Catchment sign and keep going up

Be sure to look behind you from time to time!

After The TWins and about halfway into your hike, you'll arrive at this major crossroads.
Wilson 1 is across the bridge and then up on your right. If you just realized that this hike was more than you could chew, you can always follow the catch-water trail on the left after the bridge; it will get you to the same place. Although it much easier, it is also much less scenic

ParkView estates are in sight on the right

Last crossroads on the trail proper, stay on the right. You are about 1.5km away from the bus stop.
When you hit the road, head left on Tai Tam Reservoir Road and go all the way down to Wong Nai Chung Gap Road. You'll see the bus stop there which will take you back to Exchange Square