Hau Tong Kai 猴塘溪

Pouring rain　BF1　30^oC　photos 相簿
Oh, it's raining again ... it had poured for more than an hour in the morning [and had been pouring for days already]. Not long after we'd got off the bus at Tsak Yue Wu BBQ site, the Autumn Maple Stream under the bridge looked alright by then, but we expected that it would become horrible very soon if the rain continued. Unwillingly, we gave up this stream and headed for Hoi Ha beach for a swim. It might be better to leave your raincoat and umbella dry and safe in your backpack, than to take them out and hope that they'd be able to shield you from getting wet.
Later, with the scene of the big pond of Hau Tong Kai popping into my mind, I decided to go there for lunch. It's not far from Hoi Ha Road, and it's only a "1-star" stream ... en route to the pond, the roaring sound of water came into my ears, then my classification for that day had changed > it souldn't be far from being a 3-star stream. My estimation was proved right soon as the cascades came into view. They used to be "gentle kids" when I last visited it in August. Now it was nothing but a rapid all along, the falls further upstream could only be more powerful. It's gorgeous to stand in a safe place near the stream admiring its beauty with such water volume. Needless to say, one couldn't avoid having to wade. Since I think it's unwise to wade in running water of thigh depth, I'd skipped part of the stream and took the trouble to ascend a hillpath, then searched for an indistinct path leading to a dried up stream. From there, we moved through rather densely vegetated area and hit the stream at the sharp bend before Fan Pool. The Pool was located at the last and most prominent sharp bend, with the Beacon Rock [更樓石] just before the bend on its right bank. The Rock looked less deep pink in the rain, with shades of branches over it. A flooded ditch formed recently lay right in front of it ... last time, we could access and climbed onto it without much difficulty.
We spent quite some time preparing our meal somewhere above the falls of Fan Pool. At about 3pm, we continued a bit upstream, and left for Ko Tong CT on its left bank. Throughout our stay in the stream, showers, drizzles and sunshine appeared in random turns. As it's still rather early, we headed for soya bean pudding at Cheung Sheung. Wow, brooklets stretched across the plateau; while marshes had become ponds. After the refreshment, we continued along Maclehose Trail, joined Yung Pak Corridor [榕北走廊] for Pak Tam. The trail was either full of slippery stones and cobbles, or was very muddy, that's truly annoying! The panoramic view at Fa Miu Shan [花苗山] had become all the more fascinating because of the clearness after the rain. Only a veil of mist lingered over the horizon. As the toilet at Pak Tam was full of mosquitoes, we had to move on to Pak Tam Chung so as to put on dry clothes instead.