Mount Johnston(196m)

Yuk Kwai Shan is located at the south of Ap Lei Chau. Although its summit is only 196m high, it is a challenging route. There are three possible routes heading up, but they are sandy and steep, besides, there is no road sign, hikers can only rely on ribbons as their guidance. Besides, the sandbank linking Yuk Kwai Shan to Ap Lei Pai makes this little hill well-known across most neighborhoods.

Our starting point was Lei Tung Estate this time. The entrance is hidden behind a small yellow bus office. We needed to climb over a bench, and follow the pipe and a short staircase up to Ap Lei Chau Service Reservoir Playground, then we turned left and go uphill. There would be three routes available, difficulty of routes inceases from left to right, while the time taken to reach the top increases from right to left. As a consequence, hikers are advised to take their routes according to their own abilities to climb, please note that the middle route would have a string available for hikers to climb up with the help of pulling it. But please never rely solely on the string since it may have worn off over unknown many years of being constructed there.

At the trigonometric point of Mount Johnston we could have a panoramic view of the south of the Hong Kong Island. Then, we headed to the memorial architecture of 'Yuk Kwai Shan', with Chinese and English translation to illustrate its history. Behind which is the route heading down to the sandbank and Ap Lei Pai.

We walked down slowly to the sandbank which was filthy since there was a lot of rubbish thrown randomly and there were many dead fishes which made the bay stinky. Then we climbed up the cliff and walked towards right hand side, followed the ribbons on the way and walked through the grove. Ultimately, we would be walking on a sandy path which would lead us up to another bush and our destination, the lighthouse.

To be honest, the pictures from most online hiking platforms have overrated this spot, since the reality was nearly a 180 degree right opposite. It was actually a disappointment, and I would like to urge tourists and hikers from all around the world: Please bring an unused plastic bag with you as a big bag to keep all your rubbish on your way to visit different attractions, and bin the whole bag after you leave. Please help conserve, love and respect the environment, keep the nature clean and tidy as it has always been!

Photos: Canon AE-1 Program, Kodak Gold 35mm/135 Films, ISO 200

To go to Ap Lei Pai after reaching the summit of Mount Johnston, we need to go down an extremely steep slope, which is sandy and with a lot of gravels, as a result, a pair of hiking shoes with good grips is essential. In addition, do not rely on the string entirely on the way down. I would suggest walking down step by step, slowly, and walk near to where the sand and the grass overlap since this increases friction on shoes and so would artificially increase the gripping force on us.

(Note that 60 minutes is for single way)