Hong Kong: Day 2

Today we embarked on the journey to Victoria Peak, some 554m above sea level, to step back and view the metropolis from afar.

One popular route to the peak is to take the historic tram, a service that has been running for over 120 years, but we opted to walk… well I managed to persuade Hatti that it was a great idea! There was however one condition, that we began our trip on the iconic mid-level escalators, to make the first 135m from our hotel (a meagre 19m above sea level) somewhat less strenuous!

We began the climb around 12pm, and as soon as we left the epic series of escalators we realised we had embarked on quite the challenge!

Within the first half hour we had guzzled most of our water, it was a hot day out (around 32º), but fortunately Old Peak Road is mostly in shade! The gradient of the road was around 1:5, we believe… after doing a little bit of science on our return.

Followed by the science…

As we rose above the city we were taken aback by the greenery and serenity on a route mere inches away from a dense concrete jungle.

Before we knew it we had arrived at the upper tram stop, Peak Tower, a depot for tourist mayhem. The facilities were greatly appreciated however, we paused for a bite to eat, and a quick kiwi based refreshment.

Now energised, we continued on to ‘the real peak’ some 1.2km from the tourist hot spot. We couldn’t have been more trilled to reach the summit!

The views really were staggering, a sea of high rises sandwiching… the sea.

We took a brief detour to Victoria Gardens before venturing to another viewing point that looked away from the city toward the clusters of outer islands to the South-West.

On making it to the second outlook we toasted the occasion with a Cornetto, as was required.

On the way down the hill we popped back into tourist central to top up on water. During our time there we saw…

Back on the road we headed down the back of Victoria Peak, with the hope of seeing the historic WWII battery, and enjoy another blissful walk through greenery.

It was nice to see that the authorities had introduced various activities along the route. We had to try them all.

Catching the last few glimpses of the wilderness, we walked the final stretch back into HK HQ. Possibly slightly delirious with tiredness, possibly with envy, we took this picture of a cat.

Thats all for today folks, never been happier to see a shower and a bed!

James