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The great autumn weather means it's time to pull on those hiking boots and get in touch with nature! Late Sunday afternoon, there was a cool breeze and humidity was relatively low. The skies weren't all that clear, but the weather was good enough for a spot of outdoor exercise.

We took a bus to the starting point of the Pokfulam-Peak trail, walked up that trail for about ten minutes before branching off towards Peel Rise in Aberdeen. The trail is about 4km long and we hoped to reach the end of it before dusk (we started a bit late, which is bad practice!).

The map below shows the starting point (marked with the big yellow 'X') and the red line heading south from the 'X' is the second stage of the HK Trail. That was the route we took after we climbed up from the junction of Pokfulam Road and Pokfulam Reservoir Road.

The trail sloped downhill for a bit, which was quite relaxing after that steep climb from Pokfulam, but soon after this signpost, there was a loooooooooooong stretch of steps that we had to climb.


After an achingly interminable climb, the path took on a gently undulating turn, which we appreciated because you could look all around and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings without worrying about taking the wrong step and falling (and for me, the opportunity to take photos!). Isn't this so picturesque?


The trails in Hong Kong are generally well-signposted, and distance posts have been set up all along the route so that in the event of an emergency, rescuers would be able to pinpoint your exact location if you were near a distance post. There were also several emergency telephones along the way. Although HK isn't very large, mobile phone coverage doesn't necessarily extend to country parks!



The trail, for a good part, snakes downwards around Mount Kellett and that's when you get the amazing views of the south side of Hong Kong Island. You have to traverse a long series of steps, constructed from stones and other natural resources. Going downhill isn't so bad, although it's probably not very good for your knees and you REALLY have to watch where you're going - one misstep and next stop: Aberdeen. The trail is right on the edge of Mount Kellett and there is probably a foot between the path and the drop. Thankfully, we weren't walking uphill (you can approach the trail from the opposite direction)!

It wasn't just the views that were magnificent. There is an intense quiet up there, so unusual for this part of the world, and standing right on the edge of a mountain certainly affords interesting perspectives of life.

Here are some snapshots - it was a slightly hazy day so the visibility didn't extend to panoramas of the outlying islands :( I managed to take all these photos even though the hubby was urging me to hurry up (or we wouldn't finish before dusk) and be careful where I was going! Again it is bad practice to walk and take photos. If you have to take photos, stop and make sure your feet are firmly planted on a secure section of the path!







We got off the Hong Kong Trail at the end of Section 2 and at the beginning of Section 3. Still, there was a half-hour walk along a catchwater and along the side of the Aberdeen cemetery (hubby says it's featured in many a HK film/drama series) before you emerge on Peel Rise. The cemetery at dusk... well, not the most happening place :p

As a reward for our efforts (it took a couple of hours or so) we hobbled (see, walking downhill is bad for you) through Aberdeen in search of fishballs - Aberdeen is renowned for being the birthplace of fishball noodles... well, whatever you say! The shop we were looking for - a particularly well-known one - served its last customer for the day at 6pm and was closing when we got there. I guess if you're that famous you can afford to shut up early and go home! So we wandered around for a bit and found another shop which looked promising.


I ordered the yue daan fun, hubby had something that looked like flattened beef balls, and we ordered a bowl of fishballs and fishcake (to share!). It was a good way to end our day! :)