Hey, everyone! Wow, this week has gone by quickly. The other day I did a wonderful hike up to Ben Lomond and I’d like to share the experience with you all. Have a look!

Ben Lomond

I have been planning a hike up to the Ben Lomond summit for a number of weeks now but it has continuously gotten disrupted. Either the weather was crappy or I had something else going on. While I originally was going to camp with some friends from the hostel, the weather down near Glenorchy looked pretty grim. In Queenstown, the weather was lovely so on Saturday I decided to make the ascent.

Some people hike from the base all the way to the summit. Since I have the annual gondola pass, I decided to skip out of the first hour of the hike by utilizing the gondola haha. From Skyline, it is an estimated three hour walk to the summit.

From the get go, it is essentially an incline the entire way. The beginning of the hike was done in the shade. I was surrounded by pine trees.

Not long after, the trees were gone and I was making my way to the Ben Lomond “saddle”. Incline, incline, incline. I wasn’t sure what was in store for me. I had heard varying reviews of Ben Lomond. Some regarded it as a difficult hike, others didn’t seem to think so.

Luckily, the weather worked out for me. (It wasn’t until thirty minutes after I’d returned to my hostel that it started to rain. Had I been caught up there – oof!!!)

While the walk was an incline, it wasn’t incredibly steep. I didn’t really have to stop at all the entire walk.

I was surprised by how quickly I made it to the saddle. And what an incredible view. One thing I found cool about Ben Lomond as that it’s this mountain that towers behind Queenstown and you’re not really able to see it when you’re in town because it’s blocked by other hills/mountains.

To be able to see Queenstown, Jack’s Point, Cecil Peak from the Ben Lomond walk was neat. It is always fun to see things from a different vantage point.

Once at the saddle, I saw a sign not to feed kea. I had my hopes up that I might see one but no such luck this time!

The third leg of the walk was definitely the most challenging. The incline steepened and the trail wasn’t maintained as well. At times, I had to use my hands to sort of “crawl” up. Lots of people were hiking up to the summit. It was funny how few people I’d seen along the beginning of the trail and comparing it to just how many were going up and down the summit. Where did they all come from?

After huffing and puffing, I finally made it to the top of Ben Lomond. I calculated the time and it only took me a little less than two and a half hours from my hostel to the Ben Lomond summit. Not bad at all!

The views were extraordinary. This is why people hike. It was such a treat to see my town down below but even more of a treat to see all the mountain ranges behind Queenstown. I hadn’t seen them before and they were quite magnificent.

After admiring the views… I needed to sit down. So sit I did.

I was hoping to see some more birds along the walk but there were hardly any at all. However, at the summit I witnessed this little guy hopping around looking for food. Cute!

I stayed at the summit for some time. Took some pictures for other people, they took some pictures of me. There was a German guy asking EVERYONE to take pictures and videos for him haha. I think he must have a travel vlog or something. I enjoyed the view for a while but eventually I started to feel cold and began my descent.

On the way down, I saw a few really cool grasshoppers too. One of them was on my backpack and actually spooked me. I wasn’t expecting it.

I would like to say the decline was easier but it was pretty rough on the knees. Luckily, my legs/knees/hips are okay, but they did feel a little uncomfortable that day. Still, I am proud of myself for doing the hike! It was certainly worth it and wasn’t nearly as bad as I dreaded it might be.

After the hike, I saw… some GOATS at the cemetery!

Once I’d returned to the hostel, I was pretty knackered. I didn’t do much the rest of the night nor the following day.

I would like to return to Ben Lomond one day in the future. I think before I leave Queenstown months and months from now, I will likely start from the very bottom of the trail and hike to the top. It will be sort of my poetic “farewell” to Queenstown.

Miscellaneous

What else? Geez, not too much this week! I honestly don’t know where the time went. It has seemingly flown by. I have still been thinking about the Amanda Palmer concert. How incredible was that?! I was catching up with my friend Michael on the phone earlier. He was so happy that I had such a lovely, intimate experience conversing with Amanda. I’m happy, too! It was really good to catch up with Michael.

On Wednesday, I went to practice slackline with the other circus kids. It has been pretty gloomy/cold/cloudy lately so I haven’t been practicing but I’m sure I’ll pull the slackline out again once it gets warmer.

When I was doing yoga at the beach one week, I had these gigantic bumblebees buzzing all around me. One of them hung out on my yoga mat for a while.

I also went for ice cream with Jasper and Yvonne another night. It seems to be a new ritual. Although, I am trying to eat less sweets haha. It was getting to the point where I needed to eat something sweet every single day after dinner. I am out of control!

What else…?

I mentioned last week that I figured out how to display the subtitles on my favorite movie – C.R.A.Z.Y. I watched it last night for the first time in maybe a decade and WOW. It still holds up as a totally incredible film. I believe it is on HBO at the moment so if you’re interested – do give it a go.

I FINALLY cooked for myself at the hostel – instead of just chopping up a salad. One of my favorite things to make – basically an omelet with fruit and toast. Hash browns are preferrable… I’ll get some next time.

I also bought a tent, sleeping bag, and inflatable mattress for next time I go camping. I got cooking utensils and a portable stovetop(?). I got all those items off marketplace for $80 from one person (from California!) but I might still have to get a warmer sleeping bag depending on where I go camping. The higher elevations require a warm sleeping bag, even though it’s summer. I hope I can put the camping equipment to some use soon. Maybe next weekend?

Someone from the hostel is trying to sell her van but it is a little too expensive for me at the moment. She leaves soon so I may try to haggle with her and see if I can get it for a little less than what she’s asking. I am a little apprehensive to buy a car (especially one that drives on the opposite side of the road haha) but I think it really is quite essential for exploring New Zealand. It will be nice, too, because I can just go away on the weekends and camp somewhere. It will be very helpful for the end of my trip, too, when I’m driving all around New Zealand. We’ll see.

Art of the Week

Reflections

I am doing well. The crappy weather has been a bit of a bummer lately but there should be many more pleasant days in the future.

As of today, I have two months until I stop home for a few weeks. I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends for a little bit. And to hopefully see the solar eclipse! Fingers crossed. That is still a ways away, though.

I don’t have many plans for the next week. I will go out dancing with Jasper, Yvonne, and some of the others from the hostel on Wednesday. I will do slackline Wednesday, too. Other than that, it’s all up in the air. If the weather cooperates, maybe I will try to camp somewhere this weekend!

That’s all for now. Until next time, I’m sending you all my love. xx