Cheung Chau Island

After hearing a friend describe Cheung Chau Island, I convinced Craig that it would make a fun day out for our family during his Christmas holiday week. We took the #307 bus to Central, then a fast ferry from there to Cheung Chau Island. It reminded us a lot of Sai Kung, as it is a fishing community.

We explored a nearby beach, finding a few nice shells and treasures and a thumb, of all things! Craig was fascinated by the fact that the island has no cars, but he did spy a full-sized fire truck behind closed doors. We snacked on a fried slinky potato on a stick, then we rented two bikes and tried to avoid riding into the numerous tourists and locals thronging the narrow streets. I was tempted by the range of seafood, but we left mid-afternoon for the ferry and bus ride home. It was well worth the visit!

Wordless Wednesday (for Lauren)

Kadoorie Farm

We took advantage of the beautiful winter weather today by visiting Kadoorie Farm. 

From its website:  

Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) spreads over 148 hectares of land and is located on the northern slopes and foothills of Hong Kong's highest mountain - Tai Mo Shan. Its deep-set valley has streams, woodlands and vegetable terraces - together with conservation and education facilities.

The Farm was established in 1956 to provide agricultural aid to farmers in need of support to help them lead independent lives. Today, reflecting the changing times, KFBG plays an active role in promoting the conservation of biodiversity in Hong Kong and South China, allied with sustainable agriculture and creative nature education.

Here I am with my "friend" Sir Horace Kadoorie.

We started with a picnic lunch.

This sign on our table made me a bit nervous, but we didn't actually see any monkeys today.

There were plenty of other interesting animals, however, such as this Chinese Water Dragon.

Rhinoceros Iguana

Wildboar

Chinese alligator

Red muntjak deer

Brown fish owl

White-bellied sea eagle

Dog-faced fruit bats

Kadoorie boasts some beautiful plant life too. I especially loved seeing trees with autumn-coloured leaves, quite rare in Hong Kong.

One of our favourite sections of Kadoorie was the sculpture park near the cafe. We had to search quite hard to find some of the wooden sculptures as they blended in with the scenery!

I was delighted to find sugar cane for sale at the farm shop as I have fond memories of buying sugar cane around second grade at a border crossing in Nigeria. Our children were a bit dubious and unenthusiastic about tasting the cane in its natural state, but I happily gnawed through mine.

More random photos from Kadoorie

Craig was fascinated by the grassed roofs on some of the buildings.

We missed out on the butterfly garden and several other attractions at Kadoorie, so I'm sure we will come back another time.