Things to prepare
Good preparation and planning before the journey not only helps with a smooth and joyful trip, but also enhances safety and reduces the undesirable impacts on nature and others. Come! Let’s see what should we pay attention to!
1. Respect Others
-
Bring earphones instead of speakers if enjoy music outdoor. Reduce any noise.
-
Bring a dim torch to conduct activities in the dark. Avoid any unnecessary disturbance to others.
-
Think about if circumvention or getting permission is necessary, when planning a route that may trespass any villages or private lands.
-
Try to keep your pet home or put it under control with the proper gear.
2. Protect Landscape
-
Use map and compass instead of tags or stone carvings to mark the route.
-
Bring hiking pole(s) instead of breaking tree branches to aid walking.
-
Bring camera for taking images: Take only pictures but nothing else
-
Wear waterproof hiking boots or leg straps to keep the feet dry in rainy days, and bring hiking poles to help balance to avoid stepping on the vegetated ground on both sides of the trail when avoiding walking on the slippery muddy trail.
-
Prepare soft pads for separating ropes and tree trunks for protecting the tree bark, if wrapping rope around trees is necessary.
-
Check and clean outdoor gear properly both before and after you go out. Avoid allowing any seeds or fruits to attach to the gear and so taking invasive species along.
 |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
-
Find and learn about the proper campsite before the trip. Do not open up new camping ground. (Designated legal campsites in country parks, the available facilities and related regulations)
-
Find out the locations for barbeque or sites for legal cooking. Avoid illegally making fires in country parks (designated barbeque sites in country parks)
-
Use camp lanterns for lighting, fire pans and windbreakers for safe cooking. Avoid setting up camp fires or any fire risk.
-
Prepare a pair of soft shoes for wearing in the camping area in order to reduce the pressure of tramping on vegetation cover.
-
Smokers should bring their own ash trays to take away any cigarette butts and ash in order to prevent hill fires.
-
Burn paper inside metal containers and remove the weed around graves with cutter when worshipping ancestors. Also prepare enough water or other material for putting out the fire thoroughly to reduce the risk of hill fires.
3. Respect Wildlife
-
Wear colors that are close to nature to avoid provoking wildlife.
-
Bring telescopes / long-distance lens and camera to observe and record wildlife. Avoid observation at short distance that may stress the animals.
-
Use red or dim light to observe nocturnal animals. If taking picture is necessary, prepare a torch or flash diffuser with lower flash power, rather than a strong flash to reduce the stimulation to the animals.
-
Keep the group and the number of participants small when having a field trip to observe wildlife.
-
Prepare a tightly sealed container to store food in order to avoid attractions to wildlife.
4. Handle waste properly
-
Take note of any toilets along the route, in order to reduce the need to treat sewage and other human wastes in the wild.
-
Prepare the right portion of food in order to reduce loading and food waste.
-
Plan the food types carefully. Take for example, do not choose those that may generate a lot of waste and oil. On the other hand, clean and prepare the food at home so that solid wastes and cooking water/ sewage are reduced in the wild.
-
Prepare a sieve to remove food wastes when washing the utensils in the outdoors is neccessary.
-
Bring along gear for handling and taking away human wastes, sanitary products and food wastes, like sealing bags containing smell repellent (e.g. soda powder) or specially-designed plastic bags.
-
Select food with minimal packaging or repack the food with food container or bags beforehand. Reduce any garbage in the wild.
-
Bring reusable items like towels and utensils instead of disposable ones to reduce wastes.
-
Prepare natural cleansing agents instead of chemical ones, like salt instead of toothpaste for teeth-brushing, tea leaves, tea seed powder or even hot water to remove oil on cookware and containers.
5. Others
-
Avoid days of high traffic (e.g. holidays) when picking the date for outdoor activities to keep the quality of the journey and reduce the environmental impacts.
-
Take note of the regulations concerning the route. That includes the Forests and Countryside Ordinance, the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance, the Country Parks Ordinance and the Marine Parks Ordinance. Find out the restricted activities in the areas in which entry or presence are restricted (including the Fung Shui woods behind the village of Yim Tso Ha, Starling Inlet, the Mai Po Marshes and the sandy beach at Sham Wan, Lamma Island)
-
Ensuring the safety of yourself and your group saves manpower and additional pressure to the environment caused by search and rescue operations. Good preparation in advance and minimizing risks are the responsibility of every one who enjoys the outdoors. Below are some items concerning safety:
(i) Know the route, distance, difficulty, topography, availability of resting spots and emergency routes for retreat purpose. Countryside maps and topographic maps published by the Survey and Mapping Office of the Lands Department can provide the details. In addition, the website ENJOY HIKING under the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, also provides basic information about trip planning, hiking skills, equipment and hiking trails managed by the Country and Marine Parks Authority.
(ii) Know the experience and physical conditions of your teammates to reduce the chance of accidents. Small teams are easier to manage.
(iii) Pay attention to weather conditions like typhoons, storms, rains and UV index etc. Minimize the risks caused by dangerous conditions (e.g. rainstorms, thunders and exposure to sun etc.). Hong Kong Observatory also provides designated webpages with detailed weather information for aviation sports, water sports as well as hiking and mounteering.
