Queenstown - Ben Lomund Track

November 19th – Queenstown – Ben Lomund Track

Not far from the Lakefront YHA, where I am staying, is the start of the Ben Lomund track. It starts at One Mile Creek, the first hydroelectric power source for Queenstown back in the 1920s. There are old, huge green moss covered pipes running from the top of the creek down to the pump house. Carrying on up the climb it feels like suddenly you are surrounded & embedded in tall fir & pine trees, with the track laden with pine cones. I must admit, if I ever were to be stuck smelling something for the rest of my life, hands down it would have to be a forest of fir & pine trees. It also reminded me of my walks/runs out in the Guelph region . Oh & I should point out that this >5 hour walk was rated as moderate…….. yeah. You will note from the back sweat stained shirt in some of these pictures that it was definitely a hike & a half! Along the way there were also tracks for mountain bikes & quad bikes (4x4’s as we call them in Canada). Then it was a climb through the forest & onto the tall grass. What I cannot get over but thoroughly enjoy & respect about the NZ treks like this that I have done is the quietness. You are so far away from everything & everyone. It is so calming, & almost eerily peaceful. The only sounds that one can hear are the bleeting mountain goats, & streams & waterfalls from the small pockets of snow still on the peaks of Arthur’s Point & the Summit of Ben Lomund. That’s it.

& the moment that makes all the hiking, burning of calves, clicking of knees (yep, I know I am getting old when), out of breath I must pause to catch my breath stops, take a photo breaks so worth it…………the complete panorama of the distant Southern Alps, the green hills, the pine & fir forest lines, the rocky outcrops, the whole of Lake Wakatipu with the Walter Peak Station at the far end, the Remarkables Mountain Range, the Summit of Ben Lomund all with sun peeking through white puffy clouds from a blue sky above. I could even see the planes taking off from the Queenstown airport, climbing over the Remarkables. Very cool!

As I descended, back to reality, I took some fun photos with my tripod (the hanging from the cliff one I really like ) & winded my way down to the Skyline Gondola & luge track, giving a great shot of Queenstown below.