Rush hour on the waterfall path

Lunch time in Mui Wo. Sometimes, the restaurants can get crowded real quickly...

... so be sure to get there early to pick your spot...

... especially when there's a traffic bottleneck.

This buffalo wasn't planning on going anywhere so the human hikers had to wait until he'd had enough of standing around looking macho.

Speed bumps on South Lantau Road now!

This picture is from Lindsey Price. Six cows were killed outside Tong Fuk this morning. And from the extent of the carnage it has to be a big truck that just plowed through a herd.

First Gavin Spier, now a whole herd of cows.

What are the traffic police doing? What are they waiting for? A kid? How horrible does it have to be before they actually do something?

The police have had it easy these past few years but now traffic is getting heavier on South Lantau Road, with more people moving into the area.

I heard that a lot of these people are not moving to Lantau because they love the easygoing countryside living but because they have been forced out of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon thanks to high property prices.

So they bring their impatient city lifestyle with them... and that includes not having the patience to wait for a few cows to amble across the road.

Something needs to be done now. Just a few speed bumps could make a difference 1) in making all cars slow down 2) in stopping supercar racers from entering South Lantau Road -- the bumps will do damage to their oh-so-expensive chassis.

Some Lantau folks are getting up a campaign but in the meantime, report all cases of reckless driving to the traffic police here. Let's make them do some work rather than while away their time on endless McDonald's runs.  

More buffalo pictures

Because I can

And besides, who doesn't like buffaloes?

Desirable(ish) residence for rent

By the beach, lots of outdoor space, no pesky neighbours...

 ... ok, maybe one.

Cows on parade

Here's why I love living in Mui Wo. Where else can you see sights like this while having your morning cuppa?

See how disciplined the cows are? They even know how to walk in a single file when in the town area.

First walk of the season

Can't believe it's already October and the weather still hasn't cooled down enough for a walk. Defying the "hike on Chung Yeung Festival" rule, we tried our first autumnal walk today (our favourite beginner-level Mui Wo to Pui O) and boy, was it a sweaty process!

Nice to see the buffaloes are still around and that the babies have all grown up.

Sometimes a half-hearted attempt...

 ... can be more dangerous than not doing anything at all. The LCSD appears to be trying to keep the feral cows and buffaloes off the playground.

But without a proper gate, cattle can still get in and the fences are only going to serve to keep them in.

Imagine the chaos if a buffalo stumbles in, can't get out and panics. The LCSD folks clearly haven't thought it through.

 A better solution would be to have a herdsman (or woman). There was one keeping an eye on this well-behaved herd – which appears to be helping the LCSD crop the grass.

Four legs good...

Please leave the buffaloes alone!

The Lantau Buffalo Association notes that it's that time of the year again, when summer visitors descend on Mui Wo and the surrounding villages, drink themselves silly... and our placid buffaloes become fair game for their drunken teasing.

The drunks don't get prosecuted but if the buffaloes retaliate, they get killed.

What is wrong with humans? The buffaloes are quite happy to mind their own business, why can't humans do the same?

On that note, what have buffaloes done to Jason Ali that's got him so riled up?

Almost annually now, he writes to SCMP and insists that the buffaloes are a menace and need to be penned up. And almost annually, he gets irate responses from Lantau residents telling him to let the pathetic remnants of the herd be.

I'd have thought he'd get the message by now.

Anyway, I think LBA has the right solution: a working buffalo farm and homestay for South Lantau - like the one they have in Fairburn, Canada.

Think about it. Lovely green acres, buffaloes off the streets... and lots and lots of yummy buffalo mozzarella. Surely even Mr Ali cannot complain about that?

Oh oh... someone's in big trouble!

But I guess it's really the fault of the vegetable patch owner for not keeping the fence in good repair.

Boxing Day buffaloes

We went for a walk to work off the crazy Christmas feasting and guess who came out to wish us a happy Boxing Day?

Good moo-ning

Nearly missed my ferry today because this was the sight that greeted me when I walked out of the main door.
As per advice from the Lantau Buffalo Association, I stayed far away but if you zoom in, you can see the herd of feral cattle milling outside Sea Crest Terrace.

I think the cow in front was mooing for her calf as I heard reciprocal mooing coming from the roundabout. But I didn't get close enough to see if that was a girl or boy cow.

I love living in Mui Wo. Where else can you see something like this?

Don't disturb Ngau Ngau

What a great idea to get the leave-the-buffaloes-alone message across!

Adopt a buffalo

We were eating at Pui O Delicious when we saw a strange sight: An old lady being followed by a buffalo like it was her pet.

Then we found out it was her pet. She had adopted it and even got it a registration number. It follows her around and she feeds it fruits she buys from the market.

What a great idea! If everyone adopts a buffalo, then the authorities would have a headache relocating (ie killing) them.

I pestered Buffalo Wilbur to let me have a buffalo as a pet but he said: "We'd have problem getting it into our 500-sq-ft flat."

Trail etiquette

Find a steaming pile of buffalo poo on the hiking trail?

Break off a twig and place it on top of the poo.

There, you've done your bit to stop fellow hikers and bikers from stepping into the doo doos. Give yourself a pat on the back – preferably not with the hand that inserted the twig.

Hello, buffalo

After those buffalo killings, I thought I'd never see buffaloes in Mui Wo again.

But here he is, one big bugger casually strolling down the road as I got off the ferry after work.

He walked up the hill (guess he wasn't in town for the groceries) and disappeared.

But not before he'd amassed a small crowd of delighted buffalo spotters.

Speed demons begone

Why do the New Lantao Bus drivers drive as if they have a tight schedule to keep? It's not as if they have such strict intervals between trips – buses to Tai O come every hour or so during offpeak hours.

What was so important that the No 11 bus driver couldn't wait a few more minutes for a tiny calf to cross the road? He preferred to run over the poor baby in his impatience.

You can read the letter in Lantau Link here. Be warned, though: The photos may make you cry. It did for me.

The bus drivers speed down Ngan Wan Road too, barely stopping to take a corner into the petrol station.

I always worry for Mark's dogs because the bus drivers really don't care to brake for anything. Today buffaloes and dogs but tomorrow, if the school reopens, children?

Leave those buffaloes alone!

Look at those cute calves and their parents. It's so peaceful just watching them munching away in the fields and wallowing in the mud.

I can't imagine anyone having the heart to shoot at them and spray them with chemicals, as reported by Lantau Link.

Makes me so angry to think about it I want to walk around with a spray gun full of chemicals to spray in the face of that person who was so cruel to Bruce and his pals.

I mean, they are buffaloes. They can't tell the difference between garden plants and food. And if you don't put up a fence, then it should be fair play to them. Grrr....

Sign the petition to save the buffaloes here.