Adventures in paradise (hktdc.com)


	Neil Pryde skippers his yacht in the Singapore Straits Regatta, having honed his skills on his home waters of Hong Kong. Photo credit: Shu Fen Ho

Most visitors to Hong Kong know the city as a business and financial hub, famous for shopping, fine dining and luxury hotels.

But Hong Kong is also a tropical island, covered in green peaks and surrounded by a stunning sea. For extreme adventurers, it is a sporting paradise.

New Zealand-born Neil Pryde, who founded his eponymous windsurfing and later snowboarding empire in Hong Kong in 1970, was drawn to the ocean. The competitive sailor and former Olympian describes his home city as "a surprising place".

"Hong Kong is known around the world as one of the more extreme examples of intense urban development," Mr Pryde said. "The reality is that while most of the population is concentrated in the urban area, Hong Kong offers a lot of wide open space and beautiful offshore waters for recreation, and there is plenty of outdoor action available for those who are looking for it.

Activity galore


	Mary Gadams flies the Hong Kong flag at the first ultra-marathon in Antarctica, staged by her company RacingThePlanet® in January. With her is fellow Hong Kong competitor, Catherine Cole

"We have in Hong Kong very active sports communities in cycling, mountain biking, scuba diving, sailing, windsurfing, wakeboarding, triathlon and adventure racing as well as the more traditional team sports such as football, hockey, cricket and more. One cannot say there is a lack of opportunity for the enjoyment of outdoor activity."

Hong Kong's "fantastic" offshore waters are ideal for windsurfing and yachting, and so close to the city, Mr Pryde added. The sailing scene is highly competitive and yacht clubs that organise major international events attract a lot of sailing talent to compete.

"My advice to anybody coming to Hong Kong is get out into the countryside or on to the water and look for yourself. Sailing four hours from the city, you could find yourself in Double Haven where you may well be totally alone in a pristine environment - unbelievable but true."

American Mary Gadams, who founded RacingThePlanet® in 2002, a global lifestyle brand and owner/organiser of the prestigious 4 Deserts, a series of 250 km footraces across the largest and most forbidding deserts on Earth, says Hong Kong has some of the best choices in the world for outdoor activities.

Amazing trails

"For the competitive individual, there are more and more running, swimming and other outdoor events in Hong Kong such as Action Asia Challenge, King of the Hills Marathon," Ms Gadams said. "For those who want to train or just enjoy the outdoors, the variety and number of trails in Hong Kong are the best in the world for an urban city.

"Also, Hong Kong is very close to a slew of other exotic and adventurous locations such as Mt Kinabalu in Borneo, Mt Fuji in Japan, and numerous other pristine locations to explore in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, among others. You can work hard during the week and step outside your door each evening or morning for a run or hike on one of the numerous hiking trails. When you have a three day weekend, head to an exotic location outside Hong Kong."

Uniquely, Ms Gadam's added, the city's lush country parks are within a stone's throw of Central. "I frequently bring out of town guests hiking, and they leave Hong Kong with a completely new perception of just how diverse and beautiful the landscape here is. My guests are generally in awe of the scenery and the variety of trails. They all say they had no idea that Hong Kong had these remote and striking landscapes."

Ice sports hot


	A computer generated photo of the world-class ice rink being built by Asiasports which will put Hong Kong on the skating world stage

US-born ice hockey player Tom Barnes got the idea to form Asiasports Limited, a company which runs international ice sport tournaments in Asia, after a chance encounter on a country trail in Hong Kong. While chatting with a fellow hiker, he was amazed to discover that ice hockey was played in Hong Kong. He immediately joined, and later formed his company.

Now, Asiasports is developing Hong Kong's first international-sized ice rink. Due to open in the second quarter of 2007, the rink in the new MegaBox complex, East Kowloon, will feature a 30-metre glass window with full views of Victoria Harbour. Capable of hosting Olympic qualifying games and international leagues, the facility will further advance Hong Kong's position as the host of world tournaments in ice sports, following the city's success in staging the Rugby Sevens.