The Chi Ma Wan Peninsula is one of the wildest and most beautiful parts of Hong Kong and it offers the highest concentration of quality climbing, certainly in Hong Kong and possibly in all of the Region, especially if you climb mainly in the 6's. Add to this the friendly bolting and outlook over the sea and towards Lantau and Sunset Peak, then it is a happy place.
Notably the crags also overlook a famous beach, where not one, but two Jean Claude Van Damme's had their final battle with corrupt politicians and gangsters. If you do happen across Double Impact, then be aware there is a lot more jungle these days. That said, it is a site of personal homage for me.
The Peninsula has a trail running round it and a trail to the summit of Temple, a minor peak, but with a great outlook. We used to access routes from the summit through abseils down into the jungle. However, a somewhat controversial crowd funded re-bolting campaign resulted in much easier access from below. Thankfully my name is not on any of the bolts, nor did I end up with my hair pulled or scratches from the ensuing conflicts. These days you can observe the names of the who's who of who used to shag who in Hong Kong from the names on the bolt anchors.
At the trail head there is a small camping area with fire pits and a stunning outlook over the village and towards Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. There always seems to be a plentiful supply of firewood if you go for a mooch in the woods. I have always ditched the camping stuff in the woods and then headed out climbing. This has worked well and I guess it will until it doesn't.
As usual I had a plan and an agenda. For the first day we headed up to the MainStrike area for some routes I hadn't done before. Excellent rock, but a few tricky moves soon had a decent pump on, although the jungle is starting to reclaim some of the less trafficked routes. That said, the occasional wooden hold is always to be welcomed. We did some gardening and headed out feeling hot and tired.
Having thought we would have the campsite to ourselves, we were a bit disappointed to see two tents set up. However, this quickly passed as two super friendly shelties, Furbie and Holly, came across to say hello. They were on the mooch for scratches, which were gladly obliged. Very quickly we had a blazing fire, with a big pile of logs, country and western music and a belly full of camping bread, curry and chili. An excellent camp was had.
The next day was back to the Temple North and a big pitch for my nervous partner. However, a great effort soon saw up on a comfy ledge and charging for the top. Rather than the usual abseil descent, we opted to scramble up over the top of the hill and back down what is now a very worn trail. Alas there were no cabs, which meant a bit of a hike out to Pui O to get the bus back to Mui Wo. All in all an excellent couple of days out in this amazing area.
