Hiking to Shek O (石澳) - Dragon's Back Trail

As mentiioned in an earlier blog post(Shek O (石澳) Beach), we recently went on a hike to Shek O (石澳), a small fishing village on the southern peninsula of Hong Kong island. Our good friend Sam invited us on the hike that was, by my standards, pretty easy but done at a mellow pace. Apparently the Dragon's Back Trail was declared as the Best Urban Hike in Asia in 2004 by TimeASIA

Sam, Queenie and Paul above Shek O (石澳)

Our friend Sam kindly invited us to go hiking on Saturday morning (08 October,2011) after a very late night at a KTV. We met at Taikoo MTR stop and then carried on to Shau Kei Wan station where we jumped on the No. 9 bus to Shek O. The bus was fairly full but we managed to find some seats and enjoy the pleasant drive to Shek O. Shortly before arriving at Shek O we jumped off the bus and started trekking towards the Dragon's Back trail.

Our Friend Sam

Sam and Paul

Sam on the Trail

Queenie on the Trail

All of us on the Trail

The initial part of the trail seemed daunting: there were a lot of steps and we thought, since we were walking to a peak, this would be the norm for most of the hike, fortunately it wasn't. Once the initial set of stairs were negotiated the trail flattened out quite a lot and we were walking on a flat, smooth trail, under beautiful sub-tropical vegetation in a cool breeze. It was a beautiful place to be walking and surprised us a great deal as to how relaxing, and easy the walk was, especially since the internet site we referred to suggested the hike was really difficult.

The first part of the trail was mostly undercover and therefore very pleasant with a cool breeze blowing through the trees. We also had some good views of Stanley and the Stanley peninsula. All in all it was a fairly good day for hiking in the mountains. We did see quite a few people on the trail but it wasn't too noisy and for the most part (at least in the initial stages) we felt as if we were alone.

Stream in the Forest

Covered Trail

We eventually reached a fork in the road that would take us around the back of the mountain or up the Dragon's Back trail. We chose the Dragon's Back trail so named I imagined because of all the jagged rocks on the path. The path goes up to Shek O peak and gives tremendous views of Big Wave Bay, Shek O golf course, Shek O, Stanley and of course the ocean.

Dragon's Back Trail

View of Shek O

View of Shek O

Shek O Golf Course

Big Wave Bay

View from the Trail

We spent time at the top enjoying the view and just fooling around. There was a pole in the ground that we all decided to try and stand on. It wasn't that tough and Sam decided to go ariel and jump off

Sam Jumps

Yoga Pose

As you would expect in a sub-tropical climate like Hong Kong there was plenty of wonderful vegetation to see. From some colorful flowers to many different shades of green. Some of it was interesting and some beautiful. We had an awesome time just stopping and enjoying the vegetation along the way. Some pictures of the vegetation is shown below:

After walking for about 4 hours at a really slow pace we finally arrived back on the road where we started (just a little further down) and decided to go to Shek O for lunch.

The Bus Stop

We had a really great hike and are thankful to our friend Sam for taking us out there. It was fun.

Climbing Er Guo Shan

Looking up the Slope

Yesterday we had a farewell event for Queena, one of Queenie's friends. Our fearless leader Frank decided to march us to the top of the hill and march us down again. So early in the morning (8:00am) we set off from our house to the Taipei Zoo. There we met Frank, Queena (of course), Sylph, David and David's young daughter. We jumped into Frank's car and he drove us to the foot of a trail on what they told me was "Er Guo Shan" (although I could be completely wrong about that). Anyway, it was one of the "mountains" at the back of the zoo. It was actually a beautiful day for hiking and while everyone wore sensible shoes, Queenie and I decided to wear sandles. Didn't worry me to much but poor Queenie slipped quite a lot on the clay underneath.

At the Bottom

We headed up the steepest part of the "mountain" which was a small trail covered with green vegetation and the sun streaming through. It was brilliant weather for climbing. We took about 45-minutes to get to the top (maybe an hour), nothing too strenous but for us beginners a far-enough walk. Frank had to walking sticks and lent one to Queenie to help her up the mountain. Anyway, we all bounded up the mountain and a fairly brisk pace. I must say though Frank was a great leader who always took up the rear to make sure everyone got up the mountain OK.

Our Leader Frank

The good part about choosing the more difficult slope is that there were very few people on that particular trail. On other trails there were considerably more people. We were thankful though to have nature to ourselves. The natural environment was incredibly beautiful and being surrounded by trees is a rare phenomnon in Taipei so it was fun. The striking thing though is that the vegetation around Taipei is very similar to the vegetation in Durban but that is because the climates are similar.

The Vegetation

Everybody seemed to have fun.

Queenie and Frank

Queena

David and his Daughter

Sylph and Queena

As I said, it did take a about an hour to get to the top. Some of the slopes were a little steep but there were a few ropes to help us pull ourselves up. The clay was wet so made the slopes a little slippery but if careful no big deal.

At the Top

On the way down we met a couple of people. We met one 70 year old man who had worked for Chung Hua Telecom for 34 years. We also saw a "mountain biker" pushing his bike down the mountain as he was too afraid to ride. It was flat enough to ride but he didn't seem to have the desire. We also found an excellent resting point to take a long (very long) break.

The Girls

The Boys

Queenie and Queena

So after taking our very very long break, we headed back down the"mountain." It was a great walk and I think we all felt very refreshed (if not a little tired) afterwards.

Queena. Sylph and Queenie at the bottom

So that's it, the end of the hike. Goodbye Queena and good luck in London. We all wish you the best and we hope you find a job quickly and have a great time. Don't forget to come and visit us sometime and remember you will always have friends in Taiwan. Take care of yourself and next time we go hiking, please don't slow us down...ha ha ha...only joking. Anyway, all the best and good luck.

Goodbye Queena

You can see more pictures of our hike @ Hiking Pictures