To celebrate the New Year of the Horse, a leisure walk (新春行大運) from Admiralty to Wanchai Gap and then to Aberdeen was initiated by Stephen Mak of Acadia University Hong Kong Alumni Association in mid-February 2026. Alumni of other maritime universities were also invited.

Representing alumni of Acadia University were Stephen and Rekha. Rekha's husband was supposed to join, but unfortunately he caught a cold and decided to get some rest at home. The other participants included Jimmy Ho representing alumni of SMU and John Tse representing alumni of Dalhousie University. The walk was held in a warm and sunny Saturday morning on March 7, 2026. The route was originally planned to pass by Kennedy Road, Bowen Drive, Bowen Road, Wan Chai Green Trail and Aberdeen Reservoir Road before reaching Aberdeen downtown area. However, considering that it might be too hard for John (who is over 80 years of age) to walk up the slopes on Wanchai Gap Road, Stephen decided to change the route. Eventually, we took the Route #15 bus from Admiralty and dropped off at the Wanchai Gap Park. Since the original route had been cut short, we took an impromptu tour to the Police Museum which is close to the Wanchai Gap Park.

We walked at a leisurely pace along Aberdeen Reservoir Road and arrived the downtown area of Aberdeen around 12:30 pm. It was followed by a dim sum lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Aberdeen. During the lunch, we talked about the recent development and happenings of the Maritimes. Rekha mentioned that Stephen had been nominated to receive the 2026 Acadia Alumni Issac Chipman Award for Excellence in Alumni Service. Congratulations, Stephen! You deserve it.