Ben Lomond

Nice hike that starts from the gondola in Queenstown and goes up Ben Lomond (1748 m) and also the neighbour mountain Bowen Peak (1631 m).
The hike can be divided into three parts:

• Part 1: From the start to the gondola's upper station


• Part 2: From the upper station of the gondola to the Ben Lomond saddle


• Part 3: From the saddle to Ben Lomond summit


• Part 4 is a nice optional addition to go up Bowen Peak
  

Part 1
Slightly over two kilometres inside the forest following the Tiki trail. If you want to shorten the hike you can take the gondola and save this part, either to go up, down or both.

Part 2
Once we get to the upper station of the gondola we need to find our way to the beginning of the Ben Lomond trail. The area was under construction the day I went up but signposts were already in place so it wasn't difficult to find it.
For a few hundred meters we walk inside a forest and soon we get out and walk on the track over the bush line. From here we have the summit in front of us all the time.
This is the longest section where we will walk for about 4 km before reaching the saddle.
You will find a bench at the saddle from where you have direct views of both mountains, Ben Lomond on the left and Bowen Peak on our right.

Part 3
From the saddle to the summit is about 1.6 Km. The track here is much more narrow and also a bit steeper. The last few hundred meters the track goes around on the right-hand side before reaching the summit.
The views from here are wonderful. We have direct views of all the peaks around.

Part 4
To go up Bowen Peak we first go down to Ben Lomond saddle. From here go across until you get to Moonlight track which you leave immediately heading uphill. I thought the ascent would be all off track but pretty soon I found a track, even with tyre marks from bikes, that I followed and took me all the way to the summit.
This summit is shorter and easier than Ben Lomond and the views from the top are equally fantastic.