Where to find the Monkeys? Hong Kong’s Nature and Islands- Part 2
Kim Shan Country Park (金山郊野公園) is one of the most memorable parks I have visited in Hong Kong, as I have never seen so many wild monkeys in my life. In fact, there are so many monkeys in that area, Kim Shan is also referred to as “Monkey Hill” by the locals. Similar to Victoria Hill, you know from the name itself, that it is not a difficult hike at all to be called a mountain. Kim Shan Country Park is located at the north of Kowloon. The country park consists of 4 reservoirs, Kowloon Reservoir (九龍水塘), Kowloon Reception Reservoir (九龍收水塘), Kowloon Byewash Reservoir (九龍副水塘), and Shek Lei Pui Reservoir (石梨貝水塘).
Throughout the walk, you will encounter lots of monkeys, therefore, it is important to keep food and drinks hidden. If you are seen drinking or eating, monkeys will gang up with their crew and rob your food and drinks.
We started our walk from the Shek Lei Pui Reservoir Bus Stop (石梨貝水塘公車站) (photo 1). From the bus stop, we can see monkeys are already waiting for our arrival loll. It is said that the monkeys we encountered there are not the original species from Hong Kong (the original ones should look black like the sculpture above), but were imported during World War I to help the locals to get rid of a toxic plant that will poison the water of the reservoir. After seeing this dam (photo 2), we are close to Kowloon Byewash Reservoir (九龍副水塘) (photo 3) and Kowloon Reservoir (九龍水塘) (photo 4–5).
After a small walk, we reached a pavilion on Golden Hill Road which is a part of MacLehose Trail Section 6, but that pavilion is taken over by monkeys as well loll. Then from the pavilion, we kept hiking and passed by Shek Lei Pui Reservoir (石梨貝水塘).
Lastly, I want to end this story with some beautiful trees I saw along the way. Today is my birthday and I hope my article can reach more people who find the information relevant to them, like roots of the trees reaching far and beyond and that I keep the habit of writing.