Lady Maclehose Holiday Village is an activity campsite nestled in the mountains of Sai Kung. Originally the engineers' barracks during the construction of High Island Reservoir, the bungalows were refurbished by the Government into a holiday camp in 1981.
We ran the photos of Lady Maclehose unveiling the plaque and Sir Tang Shui-kin (the co-founder of Kowloon Motor Bus and David Tang's grandfather) touring the site through an auto-colouriser and the results add a touch of vitality to that 1981 day.
When the Holiday Village was built, the closest settlement before ascending was the village of Tsak Yue Wu. Like many other villages, Tsak Yue Wu was a Hakka settlement. There is a fascinating history regarding tax evasion which can be found here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23889664?seq=12
Proceeding north from the Holiday Village towards the (non-Hakka) village of Pak Tam, we chanced upon a gate barring entry. Needless to say, we took that as an invitation.
Since this location is not very far up, a large volume of water is collected in a pond before convulsing over a Weir on its way down the mountain. Unsure whether this section is natural or man-made to serve the nearby village.
A faded sign tells us we are on the correct path to the New Being Fellowship, a Christian group focusing on helping young male drug abusers reintegrate into society. Very nice but we are trying to find Pak Tam Village!
Along the way, we find a plaque saying that the village shrine to the local god (in this case Hung Shing and Dai Wong are the patron deities) was refurbished in 2001.
After a few more minutes, we enter Pak Tam. It seems the whole village is being used by the New Being Fellowship as a way to rehabilitate young men who suffer from the influence of drugs.
Most of the older stone buildings have tumbled down, but some postwar concrete structures stand strong. Notice the star in the upper right - that usually indicates support for the "New China" if not Communism.
The village is at a crossroads of several overgrown trails which promise an interesting adventure for the future. Until then, our wishes for the most successful of expeditions!
