High West

February 21, 2009

Today I decided to hike up to High West. I started by cheating (just a little) and taking the Escalators as far up as they go - Conduit Road. High West is the peak to the west of Victoria Peak (the highest on HK Island). Unfortunately you cannot hike to the top of Victoria Peak, you can take a tram to a viewing station that is about 2/3 the way up though. You can climb High West, the next tallest and actually higher than the Peak Viewing area/shopping mall.

About 1/3 of the way up I stopped at the Pinewood Battery where you can play amongst the ruins. This Battery was used as an Anti-Aircraft Battery that guarded the West end of the Harbour. It was hit during WWII by the Japanese and you can still see where damage was caused to the cement foundations and other structures. You can still see some of the paint on parts of the ground but it is now mainly used by people walking or picnicking on the weekends.

About 2/3 the way up you reach a park where a number of trails cross. One is a trail that leads straight across to the Peak Terminus/Lookout. I followed a small path that takes you around & to the top of the High West Peak. Once you leave the park you walk about a minute and there is a clearing with a set of tables and long ground level bench. I laid down and basked in the sun for a while. Then the weather shifted and started to get cool & foggy. I decided it was time to get to the top.

600 + stairs later I was at the top of High West and enjoyed my views of the area and even the faint outlines of surrounding islands. I can only imagine how spectacular the view would have been on a clear day. Stupid Fog! I then went back to the park and took the nice, flat, trail to the Peak Terminus. I grabbed a lemonade and some fruit from a Smoothie place called "Jungle Juice." Too bad it wasn't real Jungle Juice. Then I walked around the Peak for a while and hiked back down to Central stopping at the HK Zoo on the way down. The Aviary is really the Crown Jewel of this Zoo. There are tons of unique and some funny looking birds. I have a picture of the funniest - the Yellow-Casqud Hornbill.

I also walked by a wedding where the escape car was all purple - even the leather inside. I think N & S should have used this for their wedding.


Pictures can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/roberra/HighWestFebruary212009?authkey=Gv1sRgCOKV2LuloK7u_QE&feat=directlink