Perfect Timing.

Autumn Reflections in Lau Shui Heung Reservoir, Hong Kong.

I'm trying to see a bit of autumn colour before it has all gone, so yesterday I headed off to the beautiful Lau Shui Heung Reservoir. To get there, I took the MTR to Fanling, exited through Exit C and boarded a 52B minibus. I got off at the roundabout with the huge sign for Pat Sing Leng Country Park and headed right. I knew exactly where I was going because I had made the same journey last year, though last year I arrived when the trees were a bit past their best.

The walk from the roundabout to the reservoir is short and easy, only around twenty minutes or so. There were pretty mountain views all around. I remembered from last time that the village my friend Jason comes from is in this area.

View over a village from the start of the walk. This is where Jason is from.

When I reached the reservoir, I was delighted to see a long line of bright orange trees on the other side of the water. For once I had got the timing just right. Lau Shui Heung Reservoir was built in 1968. Its waters are mainly used for irrigation purposes. It is surrounded by tall mountains and its still waters are deep and reflective, earning it the nickname the 'Mirror of the Sky.' Oh, and it's incredibly beautiful in autumn at least.

I walked down to the shore first and took some photos across the whole reservoir with the line of autumnal trees far in the distance. I knew that going right from here would take me to the reservoir dam, but that that was a dead end, so I headed left.

Distant view of the trees.

Distant view of the trees.

I passed some wonderful tree vines and tangled roots which formed all sorts of crazy shapes. These are beautiful. Some people sit on them to have their photo taken, but this can damage them. I noticed it was someone's job to walk up and down near these holding up a sign saying 'Protect Tree Vines'. On my previous visit, the sign holders were brandishing the message 'Keep Your Mask On.' Nowadays we can take our masks off in country parks and when we exercise.

Tree vines.

Tree vines.

Tree vines.

On the walk round to the trees, there are several excellent viewpoints where you get stunning glimpses of the trees and their reflections. Although it was quite busy around the reservoir, it was still peaceful.

Looking towards the bald cypresses.

The trees from a different viewpoint.

Perfect reflections.

And from yet another viewpoint.

Selfie with trees.

At one point I took some stairs down to the very edge of the waters. This was a wonderful viewpoint which showed the trees from yet another angle.

The trees from the waterfront.

In order to reach the trees, I had to cross a bridge over a little stream. It's very pretty in this area. There are two bridges and a picnic site. The tall thin white trunks of the paperbark trees reflect beautifully in the waters of the stream as it forms a pool here and there's lush greenery everywhere.

The stream.

The stream.

The bridge.

The bridge.

The stone bridge.

The trees which change colour on the shores of this lake are bald cypress trees. They had turned wonderful bright shades of orange. I wandered among them for a while and took some photos. There were lots of people around taking selfies with the trees. I overheard someone say they had been here many times and that this was the most colourful they had ever known the trees to be. I guess they had finally got their timing right, too.

Everyone is taking photos.

Posing for photos.

Crowds and trees.

Selfie with trees.

Close up of bald cypress.

There was a very nice view by just going up to the barbecue site behind the treeline.

View from the barbecue site.

View from the barbecue site.

I also liked the fact that some of the trees were growing in the water or right on the edge.

Trees on the edge of the water.

Trees on the edge of the water.

Autumn Colours.

I enjoyed viewing other areas of the lake from here, due to the clear reflections in the still water. It was funny seeing people on every open space all around with their cameras pointing towards where I was standing. I now know how celebrities must feel. Haha!

Looking across the lake from the line of trees.

Looking across the lake from the line of trees.

After a while I retraced my steps all the way back to a staircase with a sign for Lau Shui Heung Country Trail. This was almost all the way back to the toilets at the entry point of the reservoir. I began to climb up the stairs here. I was not intending to follow the country trail. I wanted to walk from Lau Shui Heung Reservoir to Hok Tau Reservoir. This is a short walk and only takes around forty minutes. However, the walk has lots of stairs and these are quite steep in parts. I was soon puffing and panting. I am not very good at stairs.

Map of the reservoirs walk.

The start of my walk.

Steps up.

And more steps up.

Eventually I came to a viewpoint with a bench where it was possible to sit and look over Lau Shui Heung Reservoir far below me. It was really peaceful and pretty.

Overlooking the reservoir from the viewpoint on the hike. If you have ever read my blog about the hidden Hindu temple in Fanling, it's right next to those sky scrapers you can see.

I noticed that almost everyone I passed on the hike said hello to me. It's always friendlier in the New Territories where the pace of life is not as hectic as on Hong Kong Island or in Kowloon.

Every time I thought I had reached the top of the stairs, there were more and this continued right up until I reached a crossroads. I noticed that if I continued upwards for another hour, I would reach the top of Cloudy Hill. I'm pretty sure that if you walk the Eight Immortals of the Pat Sing Leng Range on the Wilson Trail, you climb up from Hok Tau Reservoir, then climb up Cloudy Hill, then go up and down eight more hills. That must be so hard. I might just about have made it as far as the top of Cloudy Hill, but I could not imagine having enough energy left to walk eight more hills after that. I won't be adding that hike to my to do list, even if its views are supposed to be spectacular.

Crossroads.

Anyway I was not going to Cloudy Hill. I was going to Hok Tau Reservoir and I finally got to enjoy a very brief flat part of the walk before embarking on a steep descent towards that reservoir. Most people say that it is easier to do this walk starting from Lau Shui Heung Reservoir like I did. I would have to agree. There were even more stairs down than there had been up. It looked like quite a tough climb from the Hok Tau side.

Finally a flat bit.

Basket and wood pile.

At one point I arrived at a viewpoint where I could look over Hok Tau Reservoir. This is also an irrigation reservoir and it could also be described as a mirror of the sky, as it is just as reflective as Lau Shui Heung.

The view over Hok Tau Reservoir from above.

Eventually I reached a junction and had a choice between heading towards Sha Lo Tung or Hok Tau. I chose to go left towards Hok Tau. Soon I was standing above the dam of this lovely reservoir. There were several viewpoints and the views from there were stunning. After enjoying these for a while, I headed down a steep staircase to the dam itself.

Looking across Hok Tau Reservoir from above.

Hok Tau Dam from the viewpoint.

Hok Tau Dam from the viewpoint.

Steep steps down to the reservoir.

To get to Hok Tau I knew I needed to walk down Hok Tau Road behind the reservoir, but I wanted to wander around a bit first, so I crossed the reservoir dam, pausing in the middle to enjoy the lovely scenery.

On Hok Tau Dam.

View over Hok Tau Reservoir from the dam.

View over Hok Tau Reservoir from the dam.

Selfie at Hok Tau Reservoir.

The other side of the dam.

I then walked part of the Hok Tau Family Walk. Every so often there were views through gaps in the trees. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to do the whole walk or not. In the end I followed it until I came to a part that had a lot of stairs up. At this point I turned back. I had had enough of stairs for one day.

Sign for Hok Tau Reservoir Family Walk.

Reflections in Hok Tau Reservoir.

Walking around Hok Tau Reservoir.

Greenery at Hok Tau Reservoir.

Views around Hok Tau Reservoir.

Ripples on the water at Hok Tau Reservoir.

Small bamboo grove at the side of the water..

The part where I turned back was just past a lovely area with streams and bridges and rocks decorated with Chinese writing. I'm guessing these may say something philosophical or poetic, though with my lack of knowledge of Chinese they could just as easily say 'toilet this way.'

Bridge across a bubbling stream.

The second bridge had a stone with a Chinese inscription. Actually I checked with a Chinese friend, the inscription says Pearl Bridge.

Bubbling Stream.

Stream with a small waterfall.

Stream.

There were several places to sit and have picnics or barbecues around the reservoir. It really was very pretty and very peaceful.

Picnic Area.

Picnic site.

When I returned to the main dam, I encountered an incredibly friendly little poodle which kept jumping up on me to lick my hands. It kept running away then reappearing at my feet unexpectedly and I had to try really hard not to stand on it. It was gorgeous. I was almost tempted to run away with it. Its owners found it quite funny how attached it seemed to get to me. I would imagine this dog would lick any burglars that came into their home to death, then snuggle up to their corpses.

Gorgeous and very friendly little poodle.

From the dam it was about twenty minutes walk to Hok Tau Village and the bus stop. I was getting a little bit concerned about all the barking I could hear coming from the village. It sounded like a pack of wild dogs. I've encountered this once in Hong Kong and it was not a pleasant experience. Fortunately these dogs turned out to all be locked away behind a fence. Perhaps it was a kennels or something.

The road to Hok Tau Village.

I passed several plant nurseries on my walk and they all seemed to be selling plants for Chinese New Year, such as chrysanthemums and kumquat trees. They were very pretty. It was tempting to go and buy something, but it was a long way to carry it home, so I didn't.

Nursery with Chinese New Year plants.

Nursery with Chinese New Year plants.

Plant nurseries.

Plant nurseries.

I said people were friendly in this part of Hong Kong. At one point a man tried to stop me and tell me I should go and see the autumn leaves at Lau Shui Heung Reservoir. I explained that I had just come from there and he seemed impressed that I had done the walk from one reservoir to the other. I think impressed that I knew the way, rather than anything to do with distance, as the walk is relatively short. 'Very good, very good,' he called out.

I reached the minibus stop and got chatting to a man I had said hello to on the hike. He was also very friendly. The 52B only runs about once every half hour and stops service about 6pm. I was expecting a long wait, but I was lucky. I got one about five minutes after reaching the stop.

Hok Tau Campsite.

Hok Tau Village.

When I got back to Fanling, I considered checking once again on the temple that has been being renovated forever, but I decided to leave that for another day and just make my way home. It had been a lovely day and the autumn foliage really had been at its peak.