Sunday, December 27, 2020

Zimmerman's Loop Section 1 : Western Harbour Walk (維港西段)

Duration:  6.7 km (4h)

Difficulty: 1/10. Flat.

Cel phone coverage: Everywhere

Water needs: 0.5 liter. 0% shaded. 

Appreciation: 8/10. 

Exercise Area: No

Transportation:  Ferry to Wan Chai from TST, or walk from the Wan Chai MTR. Return via ding-ding, or Kennedy Town MTR.

Why it's worth it:


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When coming out of the ferry pier, turn right on Convention Avenue, towards the Convention Centre. Then turn right and walk in front of the Convention Centre, on the boardwalk.

Golden Bohenia, in front of the Convention Centre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Bauhinia_Square


Quite trivial for the next kilometer; just stay on the boardwalk, soaking-in the views

Lots of decorative art pieces along the way

Stay on the boardwalk, passing all the piers

Public toilet at the corner of Man Fai street and Man Kwong street.
You will be leaving the harbour for a few minutes as you walk on Man Kwong Street 

Back on the habourfront as you get closer to the Shun Tak building/Macau ferry piers

Scoot underneath Shun Tak

Then back on the boardwalk for a long while

Water fountains at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park

Keep going on the boardwalk, pass through the open fences


Turn right into Shing Sai road.

Stay on the same road, going straight until you get to The Merton towers (the big building in the distance on the photo above). Head left just before the towers (Davis Street).
You will reach cross Catchick Street where you can take the ding-ding (streetcar) or keep going and you will reach the Kennedy Town MTR




Saturday, December 26, 2020

Zimmerman's Loop Section 7 : Chai Wan City Walk (柴灣段)

Duration:  5 km (1h15)

Difficulty: 2/10. 115m elevation gain.

Cel phone coverage: Everywhere

Water needs: 0.5 liter. 0% shaded. 

Appreciation: 4/10. Necessary to link Section 6 and 8.

Exercise Area: No

Transportation:  Take a bus to Island Resort in Siu Sai Wan. There are many getting there (11 or so, Island Resort is the terminus for many). We took 85 from Exit A2 @ Heng Fa Chuen MTR Station

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Exit A2 @ Heng Fa Chuen, we took bus 85.
10 minutes to the terminus at Island Resort in Siu Sai Wan.

A the Island Resort terminus, get out of the building, and then head left.


Left again around the building, towards the harbour-front 

Left onto the promenade


Left at the end of the promenade

Left again

Going straight on Fu Hong Street

Right into Siu Sai Wan Road

Right into Sun Yip Street

Left into Ka Yip Street

Right into Sheung On Street



Turn left and walk in front of the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (Chai Wan Campus)

Then immediate right on Wing Tai Road.
Climb the stairs to the elevated walkway, and cross over Wing Tai Road

Crossing over Wing Tai Road, then head right and down the stairs.
Then follow Tsui Wan Street, on the left.

Cross the street (Tsui Wan) and into the Chai Wan Park.

Cross the park.

Up the stairs on your right, then cross over the main road

You will end up in front of a bunch of stairs that you must climb. The Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital will be on your right.

Right

Right onto Chai Wan Road


Right onto A Kung Ngam Road

Head left in between Ming Wah Dai Ha Block B & C

Right. Then you will see the MTR sign on your left.

Head left, following the sign's direction


There you go, Shau Kei Wan MTR


Wednesday, December 23, 2020

O Tau New Village (M071) to Pak Kong via Maclehose Section 4

Duration:  11.3 km (4h)

Difficulty: 7/10. 539m elevation gain.

Cel phone coverage: Everywhere

Water needs: 2 liter. 60% shaded. 

Appreciation: 9/10. Some stunning views of Hong Kong.

Exercise Area: No

Transportation:  From Diamond Hill MTR station, KMB 96R or 92 will take you to the Sai Kung terminus. Then take bus 99 or 299x and stop at 澳頭新村
O TAU NEW VILLAGE (the 6th stop). Walk in the same direction the bus was going for about 150m. Trail head is on your left. Return via KMB 96R or 92 (actually, there are quite a few buses and mini-buses at the stop) at the Pak Kong bus stop.

Why it's worth it:

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Trail head will be on your left, with toilets on your right, across the road.

Climb the stairs and head left after the gate

About 35m into your hike (2.5km), you will be leaving the paved road you were walking on and head left on the dirt path.

Lots of nice bamboo forests along the way...

About 45m into the hike, sharp left and up the stairs; that's when the real ascent starts. You will be climbing up for a good 45 minutes, about 250m ascent.

Ma On Shan, in front of view during the climb.

You made it to the top. While you can head right and climb Ma On Shan, it is not today's hike... Head left and straight, following Maclehose 4.


At this point, you will be 2h30 (6km) into your hike and you will be facing Pyramid hill. Again here, you can climb it and go down on the other side, for an added challenge, or, keep going around, on Maclehose 4. The paths join on the other side, at the bottom of Pyramid Hill.

Head left at the sign. Always follow the leaning little hiking icon on the sign (The Maclehose dude). You will see the area where the paragliders takeoff. 

Head right. It is well-marked anyway.

At this point, you should be about 3-3h30 into your hike (9km). You can choose to complete Mac 4 by going straight, through the field and left and then maybe do Mac 5 (http://www.hongkonghikes.com/2011/12/maclehose-section-4-5.html). Or, as we did that day, simply take path A that towards Pak Kong via the Ma On Shan Country Trail, for a much shorter hike.

You will be walking down on the Ma On Shan Country Trail for about 1km and you will then reach the Pak Kong Au Road. A the gate, take a sharp left and just stay on Pak Kong Au Road until you reach Hiram's Highway.

Reaching Hiram's Highway. The bus stop will be right in front of you, across the highway.


Hike Hong Kong Web Site

HikeHongKOng on Facebook

Please, don't litter!

Hiking is about communion with nature. So please pickup after yourself. There's no excuse to leave plastic bags, water bottles or any rubbish on or around the trails; if you managed to bring it, you can manage to bring it back!