Hiking Maclehose Trail Stage 2

My friends thought I was nuts. The conversation usually went like this

*flashback*

Friend A: Where are you going this year?

Me: Just heading out to Hong Kong

Friend A: It's not time for the summer sale yet.

Me: I'm not going shopping.

*cue funny look from Friend A*

Friend A : Thennn...

Me: I'm hiking

Friend A: Hong Kong? Hiking? Are you sure there is a place to hike in the concrete jungle? You mean that you are hiking through the departmental stores...rigghhttt?

Me: Nope, I'm really going hiking. Grass, trees, rocks.. hiking

Friend A: Okaaayyy... *gives me the you-are-crazy look*

The Hong Kong Tourism Board does a great job promoting its hiking trails to tourists - http://www.discoverhongkong.com/us/see-do/great-outdoors/index.jsp. If you drop by the Hong Kong Tourism shop right after you collect your luggage at the Hong Kong International Airport, you can pick up a a hard copy solely focused on outdoor trails and parks. With this book, it gives something to the hikers to do while their friends go shopping at Causeway Bay.  If I had more days there, I would have probably done another trail.

A few trails were considered - Sunrise Peak, Lamma Island and Maclehose Trail. After much deliberation and it's our first time hiking in Hong Kong, we decided to go with Maclehose. The trail is named after a Hong Kong governor named Sir Murray Maclehose, who looked after the colony from 1971-1982. He was the one who started the MTR project and started many new villages to accommodate the boat people and those escaping from Mao's Cultural Revolution.

We got some advice before setting off on our trips from friends who were stationed on the island. As I was used to hiking in the humid jungles of our Equatorial-ish countries, I was surprised when I was informed that no guide is needed even if you did the whole 100km of the Maclehose trail. All trails have markers spaced out every 500m or so. The markers also serve a function to let people know in case you get lost. Yes, you will still be able to get cell phone reception.

The sky was downcast when we woke up at 7am to gear up for the long walk. It was still undecided whether to do Trail 1 or Trail 2 or both.

Breakfast at a random char teng - I can't hike on a full stomach.

We took the MTR to Diamond Hill and at the bus interchange, we got on bus 92 to Sai Kung town. It's the last stop so we didn't have to worry about counting bus stops or anything like that.

On bus 92 heading to Sai Kung. The weather got worse.

The rain was still drizzling as we got off the bus at Sai Kung. A choice needs to be made on which trail to take. Although we had brought out ponchos. we didn't want to be stuck in a rain storm. The weather was supposed to be clear according to the weather forecast but a freak storm was upon us. Chancing upon the Sai Kung Visitor Centre, we got advice from 2 friendly aunties on how to go about our trip. They were hikers themselves and not some weak paper-pushers. Since I was the only Cantonese speaker in our group, it was left to me. Turns out that these seasoned hikers suggested that we give the first half of Trail 1 a miss since it was just asphalt and dust. They suggested that we should take a green taxi from the taxi stand near the pier all the way up to the High Island Reservoir and start from there as it would save time. Plus, they say we would have time to appreciate the amazing views it has to offer.

Sai Kung town is the last stop to stock up on water and snack bars before heading out. It will be awhile before we run into civilisation.

Cute paper boats sculptures at the visitor centre

On the way to the taxi stand

Grateful for their advice, we made our way over and caught a cab in no time. It didn't cost more than SGD20 for the cab to bring us all the way up to the reservoir. Luckily we did too. Otherwise all our energy would be spent on climbing a gravel road all the way up.

This looks like a freaking sea! But it's all fresh water!

Levee that separates fresh water from salt water

The High Island area has been designated as a Geo-Park as the you can see hexagonal columnar joints from different angles and even get close to them. These rocks are shaped as if man took a tool to them but it's all natural. Neatly arranged by lava, gravity and erosion, it was quite amazing to see stacks of these rocks rising up.

The winds are really strong and cold at the dam. We saw a couple taking wedding photos there and the bride was a wee little thing in a short puffy skirt. I had an image of winds blowing her away.

This trail is famous for its isolated beaches, accessible only through the hiking trails or by boat. We started at at 11am at a good pace and 20 minutes later we crested a hill. Nature said hello.

Long Ke Wan (浪茄灣) popped up with a sandy white beach. We were unprepared when it appeared from behind a hill. The view was amazing. We were chatting about how the other beaches would look like if the one "nearest" to civilisation looked like this.

Hexagonal rock columns by the bay

As we headed to the beach, we passed by a Christian drug rehabilitation centre for youths. In a way, it was the perfect place, there is no escape, no temptations, except for the sea and hills all around.

South China Sea dead ahead

There was a group of expat hikers in front of us when we started. They joined some sort of hiking group to bring them in. They broke out picnic gear when they reached and informed us that this is the last stop for them. They started halfway up Section 1 and ended here. We wished them a pleasant stay and continued on. That is one thing I really like about hiking, you get pretty decent people on the trail. You hear greetings, people descending making way for people heading up etc. Of course you come across some typical I'm the king of the hill types. Those just need to be thrown off.

The weather got worse when we left Long Ke Wan. Winds picked up speed and a heavy fog settled. I couldn't take many photos then as I was more worried about wandering off the marked trail in the fog.

Starting the uphill climb towards Sai Wan Shan  (西灣山). Weather was starting to turn bad

We could hardly see 5 feet in front of us. My friend sent a photo back to office with the tag "Where in blazes are we?!"

We later figured out why the weather took a change all of a sudden. We hiked right into a typhoon warning level 2! Well, that's one off my bucket list - hiking into a possible typhoon, check!

The path from Long Ke Wan to Sai Wan isn't paved but its a nicely packed dirt track. We took a couple of breaks at the pavilions to have lunch and snacks. The warm food and drinks helped us through the cold winds. MG and I looked a little like crazy bag ladies. An was being her radiant self. At the pavilion we passed a group of collage boys who looked like they were going to camp at one of the beaches. They even brought a bag of booze, with all their camping gear and tents! The girls looked at each other and had the same thought, "if we were 10 years younger and didn't have to work for our keep."

The storm finally let up and caught our first glimpse of Sai Wan (西灣).
We hurriedly made our way off the mountain and into the marshlands.

On the way to Sai Wan

There were more people here as there is a small fishing village located at Sai Wan. They also cater for hikers with little refreshment stalls. There is even a surf school here! Here is a good place to refill your water packs if you are empty by now.
Sai Wan Village is also accessible by bus from Sai Kung town with a 30 minutes hike from the bus stop. The beach here was just okay. Probably due to the high human traffic. If you want to camp, the beach is better 5 minutes away from the village. There is a helipad built behind it with a pretty decent toilet with bathing facilities.

In the summer, this village holds a different attraction. There is a natural rock pool 10 minutes away which known for cliff-jumping activities.

When we made our way through the village (the trail actually cuts through the village), wwe realised a  number of  houses are no longer inhabited. It's sorta sad, really. Modernisation...people leaving for greener pastures...

What do you do when you leave your house? Use a stick. To prevent trespassers, the villages just put a stick across the door. That's it. No locks. Just a long wooden stick.

Sai Wan's cleaner beach

The trail snaked uphill again after Sai Wan. There is one more beach  along Tai Long Wan, beyond the ridge. After a 45 minutes walk while avoiding of cow dung, Ham Tin Wan (鹹田灣) revealed itself. Yes, you did read it right. Cow poop. EVERYWHERE. These wandering cattle are descendants of those let lose when the government gazetted farming land for the reservoir and conservation parks. You hear a rustle in a thick bush and suddenly a bovine stares at you while munching.

Get this, you would think cows prefer the grassy trails? Wrong, these animals take the paved road.

Descending again

Ham Tin Wan, the place to surf

At Ham Tin Wan, there are a couple of  restaurants where you can get a bite or rent camping gear for  night on the beach. There's quite a bit of vegetation around here so beware of the mosquitoes. It was 3pm when we reached this beach. We could have probably reached faster but we took our time and just soaked in the amazing sights along the way.

After Ham Tin Wan, you don't really get to see many people on the trail, if you can call it a trail. There is no 1 single clear path so we just kept our peeled for the trail markers that  spaced out every 500m or so. We had to double back once because we lost sight of the markers. This part of the hike was relatively flat and moving through alot of sand. After the sand, comes the jungle. We got the paved path again at this point. Our pace quickened as we did not want to wander around in the darkness when dusk hits.

After 1 1/2 hours going up and downhill on a very steep gradient, we stumbled into an old Hakka village. Some had inhabitants but most of them looked like the owners got up one day, locked up and left. It really looks like the owner went to the farm and will be back real soon. That's when our imagination started to run wild. It was a ghost town or village in this case. We met a kind old farmer and he assured us that we were on the right track.

 We all heaved a sigh of relief when we saw this sign.
 We knew that our hike was nearing it's end when we passed the camping grounds near Chek Keng

(赤徑). This place is actually accessible by ferry from the Wong Shek Ferry Pier. So for those who wants

 More creepy villages on the way out. At this point we were really hurrying.

 We brought out our headlamps around 6pm. It was really dark as we hit another part of the jungle/overgrown farmlands.Street lamps were few and in between. Luckily we ran into some people on their way out too. Imagine our joy at seeing humans after creepiness of the empty houses. Yay for people!

The hike ended around 6.45pm at Pak Tam Road. A couple of hikers showed us where the bus stop is. It's difficult to spot it at night as it was located in a dimly lit area, 100m from the left of the sign above on Pak Tam Road. Another way to know whether you are standing at the right spot is that you will see Maclehose Stage III starting sign across the road from where you are waiting for the bus.

Bus 94 came along and we climbed on board back to Sai Kung town for dinner.

Hidden pristine beaches accessible only by hiking. There is a whole lot more to Hong Kong that meets the eye.

Maclehose Trail Stage ending half of 1 & whole of 2
Getting there: Diamond Hill MTR ► Bus 92 at Diamond Hill Bus Interchange ► Sai Kung Bus Interchange ► take green cab to Reservoir.
Getting back: Pak Tam Road bus stop (left of sign) ► Bus 94 to Sai Kung Bus Interchange ► Bus 92 to Diamond Hill Bus interchange ► Diamond Hill MTR