Hong Kong, the Pearl of the East as they say is a bustling city where everyone is always on the go. Some of the tourist highlights would definitely include Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui, two of the most liveliest and crowded places of the city. If you don’t feel squashed walking around the street markets of Mong Kok, you definitely will if you’re on the MTR during rush hour. Thank goodness there is nature hidden in every corner of Hong Kong to give you a breath of fresh air and the luxury of personal space. While I can’t say I’m a fan of lively bustling Hong Kong, I do love admiring the city from it’s peaceful spots.
Shek O National Park
Just East of Hong Kong island is Shek O National park. With Hong Kong’s superb public transport system, getting here is just an easy bus ride away from Shau Kei Wan MTR station.
Hiking the Dragon’s back
This is a pretty popular hike in Hong Kong for a good reason, as your walk towards the Shek O Peak on the Dragon’s back walk, there’s a panoramic view of purely ocean on your right, the mountains in the middle and the residential area on your left. You definitely get the best of both worlds with this one.
While I found there to be a few too many people for my liking at the beginning of the walk, the crowds thinned out after we passed Shek O Peak. Post peak, there are lots of trees overhead which does cover up the views but gives you much needed shelter on a hot sunny day.
That’s not to say that there are no more nice views here, if you keep walking, you’ll eventually come to spots where the trees part for you to see more central areas of the city where you can look down at the skyscrapers and appreciate the enormity of the city without busy people hurrying past you.
Big Wave & Shek O Beach
Given how grey the city seemed (perhaps because it was cloudy and rainy 70% of the time I was here), I never imagined there could be such beautiful beaches with blue ocean here in Hong Kong. Looking from a bird’s eye point of view, Big Wave beach’s waves seemed quite tame compared to some wildly enormous waves in Australia, but the village here has some nice holiday vibes to it, with cheap surfboards available for rent.
Not too far away, just a 30 minute walk or 5 minute drive is Shek O village and beach. The holiday vibes continue here and I bet you won’t be able to resist a dip in the waters. In the Northern side of the beach, there is also some rocks you can clamber along on.
As a climber, this was the best part of the beach for me. If you clamber out far enough, roughly 300m out, you’ll find some nice rocks to boulder on. Keep in mind that there is no sand to cushion your fall here so bringing a boulder mat with you would be a good idea.
To get to these beaches, you can start at Tei Wan and do the Dragon’s back hike up and over the mountain to get down to Big Wave beach – or do it the easy way and catch a bus all the way to the Big wave or Shek O village.
Tai Wai to Tai Po bike ride
Just over at the beginning of the New Territories area, Tai Wai is a relatively quiet area of Hong Kong that gives you a break away from the busy Kowloon area. From here, you can do many outdoor activities such as the Lion Rock hike or bike ride along the river. The rainy weather deterred me from trying out the hike, but it was light enough that I decided to have a go at bike riding.
Cycling by the riverside was the most relaxing thing I did in Hong Kong. There is a well developed bicycle track from Tai Wai all the way to Tai Po’s reservoir. A majority of the ride you will be going through public parks and with the occasional ride by the road side.
Cycling from Tai Wai to Tai Po was roughly a 6 hour return trip for me and my cousin, including the breaks we took in between. If this seems a little tough, you can also opt to do a 3 hour one way bike ride and return the bike in Tai Wai instead.
Renting a bike at Tai Wai:
When you come out of Exit A of the MTR station, cross the road and make an immediate right turn. Walk down past all the delicious food stores and you will find a bike rental store in the next alleyway.
Aberdeen Promenade
Aberdeen is in the South of Hong Kong island, on the opposite side of the mountain from Central. This place gives you a little insight into what local fisherman life may be like. While this isn’t a nature hideout, this is a relaxing short walk by the water with many ferries for you to hop on to explore more of Hong Kong’s little islands.
Around the promenade, there’s a curious mix of noisy traffic behind you while the birds are cheerily chirping away above you. I even spotted many large birds- it looked to be the size of an eagle, flying above the apartments in Aberdeen.
During the evenings, there are also floating restaurants along the river with free rides from ferries to get you there. I didn’t try out the restaurants this time round, but it looks like it could have been something fun to check out.
Ap Lei Chau adventure
Further South of Aberdeen is the tiny island of Ap Lei Chau. There is also a promenade on this island looking back onto Aberdeen and you can catch a ferry across to it.
The real treasure for me on this island though is the adventurous hike on the South of this island which takes you out onto the rocky shores and then up to the peak of the hill has a panoramic view of Lamma Island, Ocean Park and Aberdeen. Be warned though, this is a pretty difficult hike and you will be clinging onto ropes at parts of the walk while tiptoeing across a narrow ledge.
For any climbers out there, there is also a crag around the rocky shores.
If you want to find out more about the hike or the crag, you can take a look at my post on it here.