Round the Hong Kong Island 徒步環香港島
Two years ago, I took another challenge – Walk around the Hong Kong Island in one day.
Shortly after I had completed my round-the-island cycling in Taiwan in late 2015, I felt a little bit desperate and would like to look for another challenge of my life. One day while I was surfing the net, I found a young Taiwan undergraduate who spent over 40 days to walk around Taiwan all by herself. All of a sudden, an idea came to my mind – I could do this as well, of course, just in Hong Kong.
兩年前的今天，我又作出另一個挑戰 – 單日徒步環香港島。
2015 年末，我剛完成第一次的臺灣自行車環島，心情有點失落，很想尋找另一個挑戰自我的目標。有一天在網上看到一位二十多歲的臺灣女大學生，用了四十多天的時間，獨自完成她的徒步環島之旅。心想，臺灣那麼大，香港這麼小；她那麼年輕，我這麼成熟，怎麼可以給小女生比下去呢。
I immediately called two of my classmates who rode with me in the last cycling around Taiwan trip. Without any hesitation, they both responded with “Why not!” and our target is then established.
With some information collection and planning works, detailed routes and timeline for the “Single-Day-Walk-around-the-HK-Island” trip had also been finalised.
我即時聯絡兩位一起作自行車環島的舊同學。在沒有一刻猶豫之下，他們齊聲説一句”Why not!“，目標也就此落實了。
經過一輪的資料搜集，行程終於確定了。
Hong Kong Island is a very small place and a round trip takes about 63 Kilometers. Assuming an average pace of 4 Kilometers per hour plus meal/rest time of another three hours, it was expected that we should be able to complete the round trip in 18 hours. Since MTR would be our primary means of transportation, the trip should also be started and completed after 6am and before 1am respectively. Moreover, for safety concern, we should also be back to the city area before 6pm in the evening. In view of these considerations, we have worked out an anti-clockwise route with Kennedy Town MTR station as our starting point.
香港島其實面積不算大，繞行一圈約 63 公里。假設我們平均歩速為每小時 4 公里，另加上 3 小時的中午、晚飯及休息時間，我預算整個行程應可在 18 小時內完成。由於出發和回程會乘搭港鐵，我們整個行程便要於早上六時至凌晨一時內完成；另基於安全問題，我們必須於傍晚六時前回到市區，因此之故，我選擇了”逆時鐘“環島路線 – 由港鐵港島線尾站堅尼地城出發。
Itinerary for the “Single-Day-Walk-around-the-HK-Island” trip 單日徒步環香港島行程：
- 06:30 Gather at Kennedy Town MTR station and breakfast 堅尼地城港鐵站集合及早餐
- 07:30 Set off at Victoria Road 域多利道出發
- 08:30 Cyberport, Aberdeen via Waterfall Bay Park 數碼港, 經瀑布灣公園往香港仔
- 09:30 Aberdeen Promenade, Heung Yip Road to Aberdeen Sports Ground 沿香港仔海傍、香葉道至香港仔運動場
- 10:30 Repulse Bay via Island Road 沿香島道至淺水灣泳灘
- 11:30 South Bay Road,, Chung Hom Kok Road, Ma Hang Park to Stanley Promenade 沿南灣道傍小徑往舂坎角道，經赤柱馬坑公園至赤柱海濱長廊
- 11:30 – 12:30 Lunch 午飯及小休
- 13:30 Stanley Gap Road, Lo Fu Shan Catchwater to Tai Tam Country Park South Entrance 經赤柱峽道上老虎山引水道至大潭郊野公園南口
- 14:30 Tai Tam Tuk Village, HK Trail – Section 7 沿大潭篤村、港島徑7段(近爛泥灣)
- 15:30 HK Trail Section 7 (To Tei Wan), Shek O Road 港島徑7段(土地灣)往石澳道
- 16:30 Shek O Road, Big Wave Bay Road, Big Wave Bay Beach 沿石澳道、大浪灣道至大浪灣泳灘
- 17:30 Big Wave Bay Beach, Pottinger Peak Country Trail, Dragon Trail, Siu Sai Wan Promenade 沿大浪灣砵甸乍山石級路、龍躍俓至小西灣海濱長廊
- 18:00 – 19:00 Dinner at Heng Fa Chuen 晚飯於杏花邨
- 21:00 Eastern Corridor, Shaukeiwan, Sai Wan Ho, Quarry Bay Park, Provident Garden 沿東區走廊邊沿往筲箕灣、西灣河、鰂魚涌公園至北角和富花園
- 22:30 Causeway Bay, Wanchai Waterfront, City Hall 沿銅鑼灣海旁、灣仔海旁至中環大會堂
- 00:30 Central Waterfront back to Kennedy Town MTR station 沿中環海濱返回堅尼地城港鐵站作為行程終結
It was windy and cold in the early morning of 23 Jan 2016. After having a bowl of hot minced beef congee and rice roll near the Kennedy Town MTR station, we started our wonderful journey along the Victoria Road.
一月尾的清晨天氣頗為寒冷，在港鐵站附近的小店吃了碗熱騰騰的牛肉粥及拉布腸粉後就朝域多利道進發，為這個挑戰揭開序幕。
Right next to Villa Cecil, there was a staircase leading to the seaside. Thinking that walking along the shore would definitely match our idea of “Round-the-island”, we quickly run down the staircase and enjoyed the stunning sea-view. There were some ropes tied along selected portions of the trail where it might be difficult to walk or dangerous. We believed that the ropes were prepared by others to assist hikers.
在剛過了趙苑不遠處有一條小路通往海邊石灘。心想蹺海岸邊走才是真正的環島，於是大家立刻往下走。在一些較崎嶇處有繩索繋於小徑傍，方便行人攀爬，相信是一些有心人特別搭建的。
Moving along the shore and under the flyover, we soon arrived in Cyberport. At the end of the Waterfront, we climbed over the fence and went straight into the Waterfall Bay Park. It was these two short-cuts that saved us considerable time to Aberdeen.
沿著岸邊，穿越橋底，不一會便到達數碼港。在海濱公園盡頭，跨過路邊鐵欄便是瀑布灣公園。就是這兩條㨗徑，便為我們省下了一點時間。
The early portions of the journey were relatively easy to achieve. Partly because they were closed to the roadside and partly due to that fact that we were still at our peak condition. We followed our plan and made some good progress – moving along Aberdeen, Deep Water Bay & Repulse Bay on time. Care should be made in finding the trail to Chung Hom Kok from South Bay Road. The entrance is located at the steps on the left hand side of South Bay Road. By 11:00 we arrived in Stanley Promenade.
由於大清早大家都在最佳狀態，再加上早段路線貼近街道，較易應附，進度和預計行程差不多，大約十一點便已到達赤柱海濱長廊。其間稍為需注意的是南灣道往舂坎角的小徑，入口的梯級在馬路左邊。
After having simple lunch and a short break near the Stanley Market, we continued our journey along the Stanley Village Road.
在赤柱市場附近小店食個簡單午飯，稍作休息後便經赤柱村路繼續上路。
The most direct way to move from Stanley to Shek O is walking along the Tai Tam Road and Shek O Road. Unfortunately, since there is barely any pavement along these two roads and walking along them on a busy Saturday is an extremely dangerous action to both the drivers and ourselves. We take the alternate way by climbing onto the “Lo Fu Shan Catchwater” which would take us to the Tai Tam Country Park South Entrance and then continued with Section 7 of the Hong Kong Trail. Entrance to “Lo Fu Shan Catchwater” is next to the Stanley Mound Pump Station and it takes about 10 minutes of walk along the Stanley Gap Road from the Tai Tam Road round-about.
The “Lo Fu Shan Catchwater” is built along the hill of Tai Tam Country Park. The trail is quite narrow and not properly paved. Portions of the trail are also on steep slopes without any fence. Extreme care should be made when moving along these areas. Despite of the toughness of the trail, you will have a wonderful view of the Tai Tam Bay and D’Aguilar Peninsula.
由赤柱往石澳，最直接的方法是沿大潭道步行至石澳道。但沿途大部分都沒有行人路，再加上是星期六的下午，在大潭道及石澳道步行是極度危險的事，亦會阻礙交通。故此我們選擇了經老虎山引水道直達鄰近主壩的大潭郊野公園南口，再連接上港島徑 7 段。老虎山引水道的入口較隱蔽，在赤柱崗食水配水庫旁，要從大潭道回旋處沿赤柱峽道走大約10分鐘。
老虎山引水道依半山而設，路面狹窄及多碎石。部分位置處於斜坡上，兩傍亦沒有欄杆，通過時要加倍小心。話雖如此，這路線卻可盡覽大潭灣、鶴咀一帶優美景色，保證令人難忘。
Another old classmate joined us at the Tai Tam Country Park South Entrance. Four of us then moved to the Hong Kong Trail – Section 7 along the Tai Tam Tuk Village. The Tai Tam Reservoir Main Dam is a hotspot for photography and we also came across a crew of photographers taking bridal shots there.
另外一位舊同學也在大潭郊野公園前巴士站加入我們的行列。一行四人沿大潭篤村，再接上港島徑7段。水塘主壩是個攝影熱點，這天剛巧亦有團隊在此拍攝婚紗照。
This was my first time hiking along Hong Kong Trail – Section 7 and it was quite easy to walk. Personally, I think the scenery after moving into Lan Nai Wan is much better as there are not much bushes to block the view.
We also made very good progress and arrived at Shek O Road at about 3:30pm. As usual, let’s do a check-in first at To Tei Wan.
這是我第一次行港島徑7段，路線易行，早段景緻一般，個人覺得在進入了爛泥灣後因較小樹木阻擋，景觀更佳。
和原先預期的時間相若，下午三時半已差不多到達石澳道，先在土地灣海灘打個咭。
We felt a little bit tired after hiking for about 30 Kilometers and took a short break at the bus station next to the To Tei Wan entrance along Shek O Road.
Just when we planned to resume our journey, something terrible came to us – our legs were so tired that we could hardly move. It took about 20 to 30 minutes of struggling before we could attain our original pace. Luckily, there was not much impact to our schedule as we managed to speed up along the down-slope walk along Shek O Road to Big Wave Bay Road.
By the way, never stop a running machine!
不知不覺間我們已走過30公里，雙腳也有點累了，就在土地村巴士站稍作休息，補充一下水份吧。
可怕的事來了，正想繼續行程之際，我們發覺雙腿不太聽話，真有舉步為艱的感覺，原來運行中的機器是不可以隨便停下。幾經辛苦，終於在行了二、三十分鐘後才回復狀態。還好的是從石澳道往大浪灣道是下坡路段，對計劃的行程沒有太大的影響。
After taking some snacks and a big bottle of Coke at a small cafe in the Big Wave beach, we went up to the Pottinger Peak Country Trail along the steps next to the BBQ area. Despite the view of the Tathong Channel and Big Wave Bay are surprisingly good when you moved up to steps, I was so tired and struggling with this “Staircase to heaven” that I didn’t have the mood to enjoy it.
At the end of these thousand of steps is the “Pottinger Peak Country Trail” and the “Leaping Dragon Walk” that brought us back to city area in Siu Sai Wan.
在大浪灣泳灘小店吃了點東西，飲下一大瓶樽裝可口可樂，在體力和精神上打了支強心針後，便朝燒烤區傍的石級進發，攀上砵甸乍山徑。這是條漫長的千級的石梯路，在疲倦的身軀下，簡直辛苦得要命。縦使眼前的大浪灣及藍塘海峽景觀是如何秀麗、開揚，我也沒有心情去欣賞。
努力地拼過了砵甸乍山徑後便是下山路，接駁龍躍徑返回小西灣市區。
With over 40 Kilometers of mixed city/country walk, we sat down and have a great & relaxing dinner at Heng Fa Chuen. By taking the fast-path along the road side of the Eastern Corridor, we continued our journey to Shaukeiwan, Sai Wan Ho, Quarry Bay Park, North Point and Causeway Bay as planned. Of course, no big surprise in the city.
With the “Central-Wanchai Bypass” project work that were in full force, we had to follow those temporary pavements built along the waterfront near the Cross Harbour Tunnel in Causeway Bay to Wanchai.
於杏花邨吃了個豐富晚飯後，便走㨗徑，從杏花邨東區走廊傍的路邊走向筲箕灣、西灣河、鲗魚涌公園、北角至銅鑼灣海傍。一路上跟隨原先計劃，沒大改變。因為隨後的路程全是行人路，所以也沒有甚麼驚喜。
受“中環灣仔”繞道改善工程的影響，在舊海底隧道到灣仔海傍的一段，只可以根據當時的施工程況，沿臨時行人路前進。
By the time we reached the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, we had already walked for over 55 Kilometers and were totally exhausted both physically and psychronlogically. If we were to continue the remaining 5 Kilometers as planned, it probably took us at least two more hours.
Since we have to catch up with the last MTR home, we have no other choice but to give up at the Admiralty MTR station by 10:;30pm.
經歷了一天的辛勞，步行了超過55公里，身體開始有點吃不消，意知也隨之動搖，撐不下去。沿會展的路上更是苦戰的開始，每一步都變成折磨，苦不堪言。雖然離終點只剰下約5公里，但是以大家現在的狀態，相信尚要兩個多小時才能完成。
由於時間亦很晚，在考慮尾班車安排下，我們決定於晚上十時半在金鐘站為今天的行程來個無奈的終結。
As a recap, we had spent around 15 hours in achieving a total of 58 Kilometers, five more Kilometers to go in order to complete the “Single-Day-Walk-around-the-HK-Island” journey.
今天我們用了大約 15 小時，繞香港島行了 58 公里。尚有約 5 公里才正式完成挑戰。
I took some rest while on my way home. By the time I arrived, my legs were so tired and weak that I could hardly get off the MTR and walk up to the station concourse. Moreover, it also took me a full day of rest in order to recover.
回家途中在港鐵稍作休息，下車時雙腿乏力，差點兒沒法行上大堂，事後也要休息一整天才復原。
In view of my current physical and psychological conditions, I think this “Single-Day-Walk-around-the-HK-Island” challenge is:
- Crazy! We were absolutely crazy!
- Self-confidence and strong motivation are major elements of success, but should also come with good preparation.
- Hiking is completely different from cycling where different parts of the body & muscles are being used. Able to complete round-the-island cycling does not necessarily imply the same for round-the-island hiking.
- I was capable to walk/hike for 40 Kilometers two years ago. Given proper training and preparation were in place, I should be able to achieve my target. If I’m going to do it again now, I may probably give up much earlier.
Anyway, I strongly believed that not everything can be left to tomorrow. Seize the day to try and make your dream comes true.
以我今天的的體力和心境來說，對於兩年前這個單日徒步環香港島的挑戰，我有以下的感想:
- 瘋狂！我們絕對是瘋狂！
- 具備信心和衝勁是成功的重要元素，但也應做足事前準備。
- 行山不同騎自行車，會使用不一樣的肌肉群。有能力完成自行車環島並不等於可應付單日徒步環島。
- 當日的體能只可應付連續40多公里的路程，足夠的訓練有助於達成目標。換了今天，相信我可能更早便放棄。
無論如何，我相信有些事情，未必能留待明天。大家一定要好好把握今天去嘗試和實踐自己的夢想。
原來香港繞一圈才63公里呀～
這只是香港島，不包括九龍及新界!
Inspired me, Thank you! As another IT professional in HK, I will try it tomorrow.
Hope you enjoy the trip.
紐約這邊每年的五月第一個星期都有一個叫Great Saunter的步行活動，就是繞曼哈頓島一周，全長32英里，即51.5公里，每年都有成千人參加，大家一早出發，由朝行晚，因為跟Five Boro Bike Tour撞期，所以一直沒有參加。去年我不玩單車遊，報了名參加Great Saunter，人算不如天算，疫情爆發，Great Sauter取消，變成自己各自線上行，非常無癮。
後來我同事介紹我一個玩得更癲的健行活動，一天行100公里，仲要在二月中舉行，去另一個州的山頭行，凍到黐筋。我同事2019年順利完成了，好多人行到一半退出，有歐洲行山健將也來參加，由半夜行到下午三四點就完成了，大部分人行23個小時的。我本來打算2020年玩的，唉，又係疫情，乜都玩唔成了。要玩也要先練半年先可以，否則真係一半路程也捱不到。我最遠也只是一次可以行到30英里(48公里)咋。
真係要做足準備，我哋上次行，只著普通跑步鞋，得個勇字，之後腳甲出哂血，幾個月先回復正常！
對，我第一次同佢地癲，行30英里(48公里)，因為我睇錯通告，以為全程15英里(24公里)，結果行到11英里(17公里)覺得唔對路，要自己獨自回程，冇車又冇公共交通，一定要自己行番轉頭去起點，最後行到一拐一拐回家，原來腳趾畀趾甲刮傷晒，流晒血，仲出咗水泡。下次再跟佢哋行30英里(48公里)時就知道雙腳邊度最弱，自行打底貼晒膠布，行完就再冇損腳同出水泡。
I will try, good idea
Be prepared & enjoy 😃