CUSTODIANS OF THE LAMMA FOREST, SINCE 1997...
energy spots in the forest
Within the Lamma Forest there are several special spots and landmarks.
The first one is called The Rock Circle and is located at the end of the headband on the furthest point westwards above Pak Kok Village. This is an ancient circle of rocks that was historically used by seafaring people, and no doubt pirates amongst them, to signal to ships out at sea in the West Lamma Island Chanel.
It was first rediscovered and unearthed by our late friend Neil, known to our community as Scotish Neil. We were preparing for a pre-handover ceremony and small gathering up on the headland called The Clarion Call when he suddenly realised that there was a large pit amongst some large rocks. He uncovered a couple of them before I joined him to help him uncover the rest for the rocks in what turned out to be a circle of them with a deep pit that was used for fires back in the day. After many hours of solid work we uncovered the impressive Rock Circle which was duly named as such.
Today 25 years later it is surrounded by tall trees and is very much a landmark within the forest. We have kept it cleared and clean and have hung Tibetan Prayer flags around it to designate its sacred and somewhat mystical presence.
It’s a beautiful spot with majestic views overlooking the West Lamma Chanel towards glorious Sun sets and Chung Chao Island with the very large Lantau Island in the background. And Pok Fu Lam and the East Lamma Chanel towards the East.
The second spot is called The Tree Circle which is located above Gaia Valley overlooking Nga Ka Wan and looking Southwards up towards Tai Ping Village.
This is an impressive circle of 12 trees with an approximate diameter clearing of 30 feet with a granite rock fire circle in the middle.
We created this living sculpture back on the full moon of August 1998. I had been searching for a flat area within the Forest to do just that. The area needed to be wide and long enough to accommodate a dozen trees in a circle. I stumbled across this potential site when I was walking my dogies and exploring the barren hills above the valley. This was not obvious as the land was covered in shrubs and nothing was visible. But there it was waiting to be cleared and created.
We did just that.
About a dozen close friends gathered up there with our tools and positive energies and worked away at clearing the thick shrubs and bushes and carefully marked out the circumference of the circle. Stopping to enjoy a homemade picnic and some wine in the process.
The next day ABLE had ordered 12 two meter tall trees. Six Camphor trees and six Acacia trees were chosen for this project. With a great effort and some laughs we managed to get all twelve up to the site and with a sacred ceremony we planted them in a clock work pattern. We buried some crystals and sacred stones at the two major cardinal points of North and South, chanted some mantras, drummed some beats and watched the full moon rise above what was suddenly a beautiful living tree circle sculpture. We danced under the clear starry sky and the bright August moon and lit our first bonfire within the stone circle. It was a most memorable night indeed.
Today 26 years later the Tree Circle has survived a viscous fire that swept through it in 2004 that wiped out 7 of the trees, we lost all six Camphors and one of the Acacias. We replanted the seven trees the next year but chose to only plant the fire resistant Acacias this time. In the interim many baby trees have sprouted around the circle over the years as trees tend to do. We have maintained the integrity of the circle and its beauty and have enjoyed many gatherings and events up there. In more recent years we have used the circle as a shaded base for our tree planting and forestry working days.
It’s truly a beautiful spot with fairly large trees forming the circle’s circumference and an open clearing in the middle. The strategic spot catches the off shore sea breezes beautifully and is indeed a special magical landmark.
Bobsy
The Tree Circle is listed on
Earth Art Circle's Tree Circle Page
