A quiet oasis in the centre of Hong Kong Island, old trees and old buildings, a lovely conservatory and an amazing aviary
The Bank of China seen through a waterfall! in Hong Kong Park
Hong Kong Park is an amazing place and yet never seems crowded.. located between Central and Admiralty on Hong Kong Island the easiest access point is through the Pacific Place shopping mall which sits atop Admiralty MTR Station.
Admission is free and you can easily spend 2/3 hours there exploring... just do it!
The map of Hong Kong Park
It is a pretty big place but there are plenty of seats if you just want to relax and plenty of refreshment kiosks if you need water or something stronger and as is typical the two best bits, the Conservatory and Aviary require a fair bit of effort to get there!
Located at the Admiralty entrance
Located just inside the main entrance (at Admiralty) is this weird water feature and for some reason people are happy to get soaked to pose from inside the waterfall.. human nature is odd.
A pretty decent restaurant
Just a couple of minutes walk from the above water feature is some pretty decent alfresco dining (although when it rains it is somewhat less appealing!)
If tea is your thing
Lots of rare ceramics and seals along with a place where if tea is your thing then you will be in heaven, tea tasting, tea ceremonies and quaffing tea until you burst
Old innit...
400+ years old... doesn't seem to have grown much and in typical Government lackey fashion they have decided that huge labels really add to the tree's unique appearance
Flagstaff House
Hong Kong's oldest colonial building, Flagstaff House no longer has military connections and is now a Tea Museum which is fine and dandy if you like tea ( I do not) why can't they have a coffee museum!
It would not occur to those idiots in charge of the Park that an unsightly yellow banner is exactly that, unsightly and it kinds of ruins the photograph.
A 1st World War statue honouring a 2nd World War soldier
This is a very confusing statue and actually makes no sense at all... the statue is a 1st World War British Soldier, the statue honours a Canadian Soldier Sergeant Major John Osborn who won the Victoria Cross for his heroics in the battle of Hong Kong during the 2nd World War.. one would have thought that a statue of Sergeant Major Osborn would be more appropriate.
IFC 2 from within Hong Kong Park
One of the best reasons to go to Hong Kong Park is that you can get some really fabulous images of our most striking buildings... IFC 2 looks amazing set against the jungle in the foreground.
To get to the Conservatory go through the waterfall
As mentioned it is a bit of an effort to get to the Conservatory but it is worth it as the somewhat artificial waterfall makes for some great images (image 1!) for a minute or so it is like a real jungle experience which only lacks a human seeking dinosaur flicking his tongue through the waterfall
The airconditioned Conservatory
I like the Conservatory in Hong Kong Park, it has air conditioning and seats and if you can put up with hordes of screaming kids it is actually a nice place to chill out... oh, it has some really nice plants / flowers etc you can study.
Yuk!
The Conservatory has quite a few sections so please explore... this plant/flower looked like it was decomposing.
Nice plant
It is a dream place if images of plants, trees and flowers are your thing, I love it!
The jack fruit tree
I was not aware that jack fruit trees actually grew in Hong Kong... this tree was not in the Conservatory but in the park area.. I am guessing one falling on your head would actually hurt.
Not a happy bird
In my opinion the Aviary is the best part of Hong Kong Park, this bird is NOT in the Aviary.. opposite said place is a couple of very large cages with some rather sad birds trapped inside.
The unassuming entrance to the Aviary
I think the Aviary is one of the best kept secrets in Hong Kong, the entrance does not really scream out "most interesting place in Hong Kong"
This is not a Norwegian blue parrot
The Aviary is like a Jurassic Park experience, you are walking on an elevated walkway and the birds are flying around you and these are not your common variety birds either, there are some very helpful info boards to tell you what is dive bombing you.
Said elevated walkway and info board
Amazingly whenever I have been here it has been devoid of people, I find this hard to understand given how hard it is to actually photograph birds in Hong Kong
Wow!
Like I said, where else in Hong Kong are you going to get so close to an exotic bird (no tittering please) if you know what I mean.
The bird version of a drive thru restaurant
The "not a Norwegian blue parrot" enjoying a spot of lunch whilst giving me the evil eye
A view of the Peak from the Aviary
The Aviary is huge (you can see it very clearly from my spot on the Peak) and I am happy, the birds in here have plenty of space to fly around, food is served up on a plate for them, there are no predators but they do have to put up with the odd tourist toting a camera and trying to talk in bird speak.
This is a must visit place.
... and a final word from our sponsors
Yes, there are 2 "not a Norwegian blue parrots" in this image and one of them appears to have lost a lot of feathers.. how very odd.
Hong Kong Park is offbeat but is very much a hidden gem, it never feels crowded and you can get some great images so take my advice, put it on your list of things to do when you visit Hong Kong
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