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Left the hostel at 9.30 to make our way to the start of the track on Thompson Street. The map showed that we needed to go into town but there were a number of side roads that we felt we could have taken to get us there, and on walking back along the higher road from town we found that this was the case.
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After a few missed turns we finally ended up at the Ben Lomond trail head at 10 o'clock. A pointer on a map with a single road leading up into the hill said 'You are her'. In front of us was a choice of three tracks, the centre one seemed the most promising so we took it.
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Under a dull sky, made darker by the tall Douglas Firs through which we were passing, we made our way up a steep gravel road. It wasn't for another ten minutes when a sign announced Skyline Gondolas that we were absolutely sure we were on the right road. At 10.20, on a bend in the road, a number of paths diverged from the main road, we found that one of those run down to the Fernhill roundabout which was only just along the road from the hostel and would have made a much better starting point.
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The Ben Lomond track follows the original bridle trail over to Moke and Moonlight Creeks. Both of these areas were opened up as goldfields in the 1860's
The track became a road in 1864, providing the main means of access to these gold diggings and beyond to the Skipper goldfields. It was used until 1876, when other routes opened that the Moke Creek township, later known as Sefferstown, was established in 1880 to service the needs of miners and their families.
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Over bed rock, thin soil and tree roots we followed the path signed for Ben Lomond . The trees closed in about us making it quite dark. After a while the firs gave way to mountain beech and we caught glimpses of the sun which had started to break through and Ben Lomond in the distance.
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View over Lake to Remarkables
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Finally broke out to open ground with foxgloves, tussocks, and small bushes. With the sun now shining brightly Ben Lomond stood before us with cloud still on the lower slopes over Lake Wakatipu. As we ascended the sub-alpines of tussock grass, dracophyllum, hebe and flax dominated the landscape. A small white flower on a long stem was still asleep with its petals closed.
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Passed a Japanese walking group, their New Zealand guide suggested that for the return route we took a well trodden path over a ridge, this seemed a good idea. Stopped for a short break before completing the walk to the saddle at 11.35. To our right was Bowden Peak. The final ascent of Ben Lomond was a bit of a grind tempered by the great views all around. But after just over an hour at 12.40, just in time for lunch, we were at the top. To the west were the Southern Alps with Mount Aspiring, over the lake to the east were the Remarkables with Ben Nevis, all around were hills all appearing to offer walking opportunities and some clearly with paths on them.
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Ben Lomond
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Southern Alps
Mount Aspiring left of centre
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Ben Lomond has some similarities in appearance with its Scottish counter part but this one was far steeper, longer, harder and higher. With a cool breeze blowing we set off back down at 1.10. Large crickets leapt about on the path as we passed. By 1.45 we were back down on the saddle and 20 minutes later an unsigned path ran off to our left over a series ridges. For 10 minutes we followed it until it rejoined the main path, but within 20m another unsigned path again ran off to the left. This turn was more permanent, taking us finally to a high point looking down on Queenstown.
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The small while flowers that previously had been sleeping were now wide awake displaying their bell with 5 petals folded back, small basel leaves anchored the long stem to the ground.
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As we descended we reached a plateau from where paragliding enthusiasts were launching themselves by running down a hillside for a short distance until tugged into the air by their canopy.
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In the distance we also spied the top of the gondola ride with its restaurant, but first we had to pass another tourist attraction, the luge. Two concrete tracks have been built with different gradient for the timid and the daring. The rider sat on a type of soap box car and gently or more quickly descend down the side of the hill. We considered having a ride until we realised the descent was only a couple of hundred metres rather than all the way to the bottom. But the biggest attraction for us was the restaurant where we awarded ourselves a large cold drink.
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Looking down on Queenstown
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Twenty minutes later we were on our way again, first though Douglas Firs again, down the gravel track and then when we reached the bend where we had set off on the Ben Lomond path earlier in the day, instead of continuing down the road we took the One Mile Creek Path. At first the path ran across the side of the hill until we reached One Mile Creek and then we followed the left bank of the stream as in flowed down to the lake. An old pipe that had been constructed by riveting curved sections of plate together accompanied us over part of the descent. But soon, after stopping briefly to nibble on a couple of wild raspberries we were down at the lake shore at the Fernhill roundabout and within a few minutes, at 4.45, back at the hostel.
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