This was our first full day in New Zealand – and while we’d been on the other side of the world for a few days already, we were still a bit off. Even so, we wanted to get out on the trail – and this trek had a starting point which was within walking distance from our AirBnB (remember, driving in NZ is different – we were still getting the swing of that left-side-of-the-road thing, so it really wasn’t something we wanted to do AFTER a hike).

Ben Lomond trail can be accessed directly on the outskirts of Queenstown. We opted instead to take a ride on the Gondola, which cut out about 1,000 ft of elevation gain, and brought us to the alternate trailhead, at the base of the Ben Lomond ski field – home also to a ‘restaurant’, a gift shop, and an alpine slide. Just behind all that fun, we found the signs for the trail head.

And off we went – almost immediately gaining elevation through a evergreen forest, though the forest part was short-lived – we quickly broke through tree-line into the alpine zone.    Though, not before seeing a bit of wildlife – some grazing mountain goats:

As I said, this quickly gave way to an alpine environment – above bush line – which you can see in the hillside:

As it happens, in the above, almost directly ahead and very far in the distance, we were looking at Ben Lomond summit – we had a long way to go. The trail was obvious, the footing good, and the signage was exceptional:

As we came to find out later in our travels, trails managed by the NZ Department of Conservation (DOC) are exceptionally well maintained – including the suspension footbridges and these signs – they take their environment and their bio-security VERY seriously (our boots and trekking poles were scrupulously examined when we entered the country).

Here we also learned of one of the multiple examples where there is active environmental management – including the wilding trees in this area – a non-indigenous evergreen species which is invading the native species. There was signage asking everyone to pull up (yes, kill) any tree they saw!

Back to the trek – where we continued toward Ben Lomond Saddle. While the day was gloriously sunny, the wind had been blowing and had been steadily increasing as we approached the saddle. The saddle was where the real fun began. Finally reaching the saddle, we had a clear view northward, there was no longer any protection and it was full-on windy – estimated at 30-35 mph – it was blowing pretty good. But the views were absolutely stunning – northward into Mount Aspiring National Park – the snow-capped summits was a surprise – as well as southward, toward Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.

After a short food break, and with an additional layer for the chill, we still had an hour to the summit itself.

The ascent never really leveled off – we continued to gain elevation, and as we got over 5000 ft, the terrain became more rocky – something we’re accustomed to from our hiking in the New Hampshire White mountains.

Soon enough, we reached the summit – where the views were really beyond words. 360 degrees – all around, stunning.  And fortunately for us, there was another on the summit for cameo.

Some more fuel, and a quick chat about whether this was our top hike of all time, and we were off (remember, the wind? It was still howling!). We made a relatively quick return back to the saddle, where more trekkers had arrived and were making efforts to stay a bit shielded from the wind. Hardly stopping at the saddle, we pressed on, continuing to descend and escape some of the wind.

And before long, back in the evergreen forest and back at the top of the gondola. By the numbers, it was an intermediate hike – 4hrs, 23mins, a distance of 7.32miles, and an elevation gain of 3,612 ft.

The numbers just don’t do the hike justice. Definitely one of our top-5 ever!