Here are two sage pieces of advice for anyone intending to visit Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Gardens, near Tai Po: first, do not prime your child to expect tractors, cows, horses, and sheep - or anything one might expect to find on an archetypal British smallholding - because it is definitely not that sort of farm.
Second, be very sure not to arrive on an empty stomach around lunchtime because Kadoorie Farm, unlike the various Ocean Parks, Snoopy's Worlds or Jumping Gyms, is not the sort of place where you're going to find a McDonald's. Or anything at all, in fact, except two vending machines (and one of them was broken).
What Kadoorie Farm has in abundance is the lush, verdant countryside that reminds you Hong Kong is a truly beautiful place. Tucked snugly among rolling green hills in the New Territories, most of the huge site is given over to picturesque walks through terraces filled with tropical flowers and trees. You can meander through medicinal herb gardens, peacock enclosures and deer havens, or inspect the Dragon Pavilion, ancient altars or waterfalls. It's not for the faint-hearted walker, though. The paths are often steep and the routes aren't usually short.
In the lower slopes there are animals, greenhouses and an organic farming display. My children didn't care much for this (although they quite liked the nattily dressed scarecrows), but they loved other creatures: the enormous pigs, lizards, parrots, flamingoes, koi carp and the terrapins.
The highlight of our visit was the insect house. Built like a rather eerie cave with dimly lit tunnels, it's full of larger-than-life creepy crawlies displayed behind glass in their 'natural' habitat. Once we persuaded our daughter to venture inside the tunnels, she was fascinated by the assorted ants, beetles, moths, and the buttons to pull and push for further information.
The farm is a centre for conservation and education and says it's committed to being eco-friendly, preserving the harmony of nature for people and wildlife. If you visit without two children whingeing for ice cream and tractor rides, and a husband claiming to be faint with hunger, then I can imagine Kadoorie Farm is a truly tranquil and restful place. And it's worth the trip just for the stunning scenery.