CAS Week 2025 – HK Experience
The Hong Kong Experience was a winning combination of Creativity, Activity and Service. The first three days of the week were spent on Lantau Island, mountain biking with Mountain Bike Hong Kong. This initially involved cycling around Mui Wo to check riding competence before then heading up to the challenges of the Lantau Bike Park, developed specifically for mountain bike enthusiasts by the Hong Kong government. Day 2 involved exploring the different levels of the bike park with students developing their mountain biking skills and confidence. Day 3 saw our group ride through parts of rural Tung Chung, stopping at a historic fort, before rock scrambling up to a rock pool where the group cooled off from the exertion of the morning. Thursday was given over to a hike, going from Yau Tong to Tsuen Kwan O, via Devil’s Peak, a World War two fortification with wonderful views across to Hong Kong, Kowloon and Clearwater Bay. On Friday we visited the YMCA community space, in Tai Koo Shing, to learn more about the lives of the elderly in our community, before preparing care packages to give to elderly individuals who we visited in the afternoon. Learning about the issues that face elderly people in Hong Kong was eye-opening for many of our students, and being able to help in whatever small way they could was definitely a worthwhile experience.
Jairus: I encountered a green trail and a very challenging uphill path. I was a bit nervous because it was my first time riding a green trail, which is a bit harder. There were also curved paths and rocky sections. I overcame this challenge by calming myself down and recalling what the instructor told me to do, which gave me the courage to attempt and finish the path.
Ryan: The uphill climb was the most challenging part of that day. I learned a lot that day, like for example, it is necessary to keep your seat high and change to a low gear when climbing up, and on turns, you need to use the front brake, but that should not be used on slopes.
Matthew: We were split into groups, first my group went to Aeon to buy some food, water and other things for the elderly. It was fun. After lunch, different groups went to different elderly people’s homes. For my group, we first went to a couples house. I realized that their houses are really small and needed a lot of support.
Rory: We went hiking and crossed over devils peak and also across dragons back which made my feet ache for the next two days.
Frank: First, we met up in Tung Chung, where we biked to a historical village in Hong Kong. There were many historical structures and treasures to explore. After that, we biked up to a mountain, where we hopped off our bikes and began to climb up the waterfall. It was cool since it was my first time climbing a waterfall, and the scenery was phenomenal.
Marcus: I really liked the mountain biking experience because it taught me to be more self aware and careful of my surroundings. I really hoped to be more resilient and brave because it required fast paced activities. We also went to a waterfall, which was very nice. I feel like it was very tiring because going uphill in the scorching heat is basically unbearable. There was also a training course, where we learnt how to turn, and how to control our bike.
