Day 32: Ben Lomond, New Zealand Style

We were out and about under our own steam today.  It was very cold first thing and both of us were reluctant to put our noses out from under the duvet, let alone the rest of us!  We donned our walking gear and packed the jelly babies then walked down into Queenstown and out on the Glenorchy Road to find the track which led up to Ben Lomond.  Ben Lomond in Scotland was Tony's final Munro so I'm thinking this had significance for him.  The track was not so easy to find and not so easy to navigate early doors, and very steep, but eventually we were walking on a proper track.  A young couple, Kayleigh and Marino, fell in with us and we walked together, chatting till we were just short of Ben Lomond Saddle.  They were a friendly, interesting couple and we covered a fair few different topics as the track continued upwards, firstly through the forest which is close to the Skyline Gondola and was criss-crossed by mountain bike trails.  Then the track was out of the forest and on to open shrub and tussock land.

The low cloud, which hampered the views at the beginning of the day, began to rise as the sun grew in strength and we could look back down to Lake Wakatipu and across to Cecil Peak (given the name by a farmer who had supposedly forgotten his sons' birthdays and so gave them a present of naming two local mountains after them, the other being Walter.  I'm sure they were impressed!  Story courtesy of Cameron)

Eventually we entered the low cloud and all views were lost.  Just short of the Saddle at 1316m  I decided to turn round as the sign said there was still an hour's walk ahead and my knees were already protesting.  Tony continued to the summit at 1748m whilst I retraced our steps, stopping to go up a side peak to photograph the view of Queenstown.

Further down I branched off to the Skyline Gondola and enjoyed a yummy chocolate eclair and mochaccino before taking a look at the activities on offer up here: luge; zipwire; mountain biking and bungy jumping.  I sorted out a track to take me back down to Queenstown.

The track is called the Tiki Trail and was a little steep in places but went down through very lovely forest.  When I emerged at the bottom I was just up the road from the holiday park.  I put in the laundry and had a shower and relaxed.  Meanwhile, Tony had summited Ben Lomon, which had been a steep climb, and then like me diverted to the gondola for a cuppa.  In view of the time he took the gondola back down the hill.

To save cooking we walked into town and chose to eat at Finz Restaurant on the Marina.  It was a good choice as the Blue Cod fish and chips were beautifully cooked and delicious.  I treated myself to a glass of Peregrine Saddleback pinot gris as we had driven by the Peregrine Winery earlier in the week - very fine!  Tomorrow we leave Queenstown behind and head for Wanaka for two days.