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| 西貢萬宜水庫東壩全景 High Island Reservoir East Dam Panorama |
行程：西貢市中心→西貢郊野公園遊客中心→萬宜水庫西壩→萬宜水庫東壩→西貢市中心
Route: Downtown Sai Kung → Sai Kung Country Park Visitor Center → High Island Reservoir West Dam → High Island Reservoir East Dam → Downtown Sai Kung
交通: 94巴士 / 96R巴士 / 7小巴 / 9小巴
西貢市中心 → 北潭涌 / 上窯
Transport: Bus 94 / Bus 96R / Minibus 7 / Minibus 9
Sai Kung Downtown → Pak Tam Chung / Sheung Yiu
需時：約 3 小時 (來回，回程坐的士)
Time needed: Around 3 hours (Roundtrip with the return trip by taxi)
感想：路程大部分是水泥路，平坦、易行而且景色美不勝收的路線，適合沒有行山習慣的人。行程尾段位於東壩的六角柱群和海蝕洞更為整個的旅程畫龍點睛。不過沿途沒有樹蔭遮擋太陽，估計在一個艷陽高照的夏日步行會辛苦一點，但是在秋高氣爽的日子下走則是再享受不過了。我們回去的時候東壩排起了等的士的人龍，因為除了的士和私家車遊人就得靠雙腳走回去了。我們是拼車、加錢乘的士回西貢市中心的。如果不想摸黑回市中心的話記得預留回程時間。我把行程的起點定在西貢市中心，因為它的發展和我們整個行程的景點息息相關。文章的尾段將會細說這背後的故事。
Comments: The route is flat and paved making it very easy for anyone like my parents who are not the hiking type. The views are absolutely amazing and having a closer look at the hexagonal rock columns and sea caves at the global geopark had marked an exclamation mark for the day. The only thing is that there are no shades on the way which may make things a bit tougher on a hot sunny day. Transport is also an issue. There is no public transport other than taxis can reach East Dam while it is not an easy task to call for a taxi on a crowded weekend at East Dam. Do prepare for calling a taxi / sharing a taxi with others or leave enough time to make your way back to Pak Tam Chung before sunset. The starting point of the tour starts at Sai Kung downtown but not other places because its development is closely related to the checkpoints of this tour. You can find the inside story at the end of this article!
來一趟說走就走的旅行似乎需要很多勇氣，而說走就走的郊遊則是想去就能去。畢竟香港是個彈丸之地，從城市走進郊區也是一眨眼的事。週末早上父母隨口說說想去萬宜水庫，我就二話不說在等他們洗漱的時候看一下地圖和交通就陪他們去了。我們中午抵達西貢市中心，並在市中心吃了一頓美味的越南菜(這不是重點)。由於這次出行有點倉促，我們沒有準備足夠乾糧和水(說走就走的郊遊還是得準備足夠的乾糧和水！)，故此我們在市中心的便利店‘入貨’，然後......我們還沒正式出發。
Impulsive travel may require a lot of courage but having an impulsive outing is easy as pie in Hong Kong. After all, Hong Kong is a small city that you can always commute from downtown to countryside in a blink of an eye. Last Sunday morning, my parents suggested having a walk in High Island Reservoir. Without much planning, we headed out to Sai Kung downtown and had a delicious Vietnamese lunch (that's not the point of this article.) and buy some water and snacks for the outing in the convenient store in the downtown. Yet our journey had not started after mucking around......
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| Photo: 火山探知館 Volcano Discovery Centre |
因為我們剛錯過94巴士。我們趁著十幾分鐘的空檔來到車站旁的火山探知館。展覽室雖小，但是‘五臟俱全’。館內的展覽介紹了火山產生的岩石標本，六角柱石的形成過程和世界各地的六角柱石，為我們這次不期而至的郊遊惡補了一下地質知識。探知館逢週末還會舉辦東壩半天遊，但是因為行程和時間所限，我們沒有參加這個活動。
This was because we had missed Bus 94. We made good use of the 15 minutes break and had a quick look at the Volcano Discovery Centre. It is a small but compact exhibition with a brief introduction of the hexagonal rock columns and related geological knowledge. The centre also organized paid half-day tour to the East Dam during weekends but we did not join the tour due to time constraint.
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| 萬宜水庫東壩半天遊 Day Tour At High Island Reservoir East Dam |
If it happens that the centre is closed or you simply do not have the time to visit the center, you might want to read these creatively designed hexagonal leaflets about the Global Geopark at High Island.
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| 萬宜地質步道(pdf) High Island Geo Trail Leaflet (pdf) |
Here we go! Normally people will get off at Sheung Yiu but we got off at Pak Tam Chung as it was one of the sites for school picnic back in the days when I studied at secondary school. It's quite an interesting experience revisiting the site. What we found was an empty barbeque site which located a few minutes away from the bus stop and leaves that had not completely turned red. I believe it will look different a few weeks later.
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| 別被傷健樂園的人潮蒙蔽，其實只要走幾分鐘的路程就別有洞天 The barbeque site was crowded at the entrance of the park but there was an empty barbeque site a few minutes away |
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| 只能說我們來早了 We were too early for the red leaves. |
There're a tuck shop and a toilet next to the barbeque site (there are portable toilets only at the High Island Reservoir). While my parents were taking a break there, I entered the Sai Kung Country Park Visitor Centre. There is an exhibition which is slightly bigger than the one at the Volcano Discover Centre, introducing the history of country parks in Hong Kong and High Island Reservoir. The pictures about the traditional customs that villagers in New Territories practiced are paired with detailed information. It might look a bit dull but I believe there must be lots of research and efforts behind the exhibition.
明明是一次郊遊但是行程的前兩站卻是室內的展覽......現在真的去郊遊了。我們沿著那道因萬宜水庫工程而興建的西貢萬宜路(也就是麥理浩徑1段)進發。
Well, it supposes to be an outing but at the first 2 stops we ended up visiting some exhibitions...... So this time we really 'go wild'! We walked along Sai Kung Man Yee Road, a road built for the construction of the High Island Reservoir, which is also the first section of Maclehose Trail.
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| 麥理浩徑一段的初段 Section 1 of Maclehose Trail |
The first 1km of the trail is an ordinary road until......
我們見到水了！在這個時刻，我們仿佛見到電影‘浩劫重生’(Cast Away)的 Wilson，難掩內心的激動。遊水壩當然期望看到水庫的面貌，見到水也就意味著我們離目的地更進一步。隨後各種湖光秀色映入眼簾，就這樣我們不經不覺間便來到了西壩。
We saw the reservoir! "Wilson" we exclaimed as if we were in the movie Cast Away. As we moved on there were more beautiful sceneries to come.
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| 在西壩遠眺創興水上活動中心(萬宜羈留中心舊址) Chong Hing Water Sports Center (the site of the former High Island Detention Camp for Vietnamese Refugee) is by the side of the West Dam |
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| 溢洪道 Spillway |
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| 萬宜原水抽水站 High Island Raw Water Pumping Station |
Who will get fed up with these awesome sceneries?
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| 水中綠洲 An oasis in the water |
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| 大自然是最美的畫框 A beautiful photo frame crafted by nature |
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| 路上還有觀景台，欣賞景色的同時也能知道自己所看到的是什麼地方 With the viewing point, you get to know what you are looking at |
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| 有些地方是沒有電話訊號的，遇到危險時就得靠這些緊急電話 At some point comes to poor cell phone signal and you are in an emergency, these emergency helplines help |
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| 麥理浩經沿途有這些距離柱，讓你得悉自己的位置也讓你更有動力走到目的地 Distance post that helps you locate your spot and motivates you to move on to the next post |
It took us around 1.5 hours to walk from the West Dam to the East Dam. Some people might get tired on the way and go to the East Dam by taxi instead of on foot but I will say they are going to miss a lot of great views and funny moments.
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| 天不怕，地不怕，啃東壩 Munching the East Dam. Yum! |
萬宜水庫於1978年落成，是香港最大及儲水量最多的水庫。正所謂前人栽樹後人乘涼，建設大型基建背後少不了前人的努力和犧牲。這個粉藍色的錨形石是紀念興建萬宜水庫期間殉職的工程人員。
High Island Reservoir opened in 1978, is Hong Kong's biggest reservoir. The blue dolosse is a memorial of those who lost their lives on the High Island Reservoir project.
High Island Reservoir opened in 1978, is Hong Kong's biggest reservoir. The blue dolosse is a memorial of those who lost their lives on the High Island Reservoir project.
當我們走到東壩的時候，有一頭牛迎面而來。我笑說這牛真會選地方，整天就看著世界地質公園的獨特地質面貌，享受著怡人的自然風光，卻換來父母冷冷的一句“對牛彈琴”。子非牛，焉知牛之樂！
When we arrived the East Dam, a cow stood by the sign of East Dam. I joshed about the cow knowing its way to enjoy the scenery in the Global Geopark while my parents thought perhaps the cow was just having its daily routine.
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| 歡迎我們的牛(活的不是展板)！ A cow (live cow not a carboard) welcoming tourists at East Dam |
東壩的盡頭有一塊醒目的石頭，標誌著我們已經到達世界地質公園！ 東壩是西貢萬宜路的盡頭，右轉沿路木步橋道近距離欣賞六角柱石、海蝕洞、破邊洲等自然地質面貌，而左轉沿著麥理浩徑1段走二十多分鐘就能到浪茄灣。據說浪茄灣景色優美，遺憾的是父母已經沒力氣走下去了。我們在東壩待了一會兒便和其他遊人拼車返回西貢市中心。週末黃昏時段的東壩排了長長的人龍等著坐的士回市區，所以要不預留時間沿路折返或準備和人拼車回市區。
You would never miss East Dam with this sign of Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark. East Dam is the end of Sai Kung Man Yee Road. You can walk along the path on the right to have a closer look at the hexagonal rock columns, sea cave and Po Pin Chau (the small island isolated from the land) or turn left to continue your way on the first section of the Maclehose Trail and head to Long Ke, to enjoy the wonderful waterfront. We did not make our way to Long Ke because my parents ran out of fuel after a 3-hour-walk. We went back to Sai Kung downtown by taxi at 5 p.m. There was a long queue waiting for taxis to go back to downtown. If you plan to go to East Dam make sure you leave enough time to make your way back or be prepared for calling a taxi to return to downtown. As there are limited light posts on the Sai Kung Man Yee Road and you do not want to grope your way out in the dark.
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| Panorama shot of East Dam |
地圖 Map
出發日期：2017年11月5日
Date: 5 November 2017
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