Sightseeing in Queenstown
Once you arrive in Queenstown you will feel immediately that there’s a different vibe. Everyone seems to be on “a holiday” and is very chilled and relaxed. Stroll around the little streets all leading to the Lake Wakatipu Waterfront. Here you will find plenty of food trucks with tasty goodies.
I enjoyed some Pad Thai and went another day for Fish and Chips. There are numerous shops offering all sorts of activities such as Jet-Boating, Bungy Jumping, organised hikes, wine tasting... you name it! One of the highlights for most tourist is the Skyline Gondola, or more exciting sports such as Sky-diving, offering “50% of for old farths over 50” (WOW, I am officially old now…!) or the long Zipline Treehouse Track.
Of course you can also book a lot of excursions to nearby sights such as Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Glenorchy or Arrowtown. I am not much of a “group-person”, so I rather do things for myself. But the possibilities offered are endless.
I would hardly recommend everyone to visit the extremely helpful DOC Centre in the centre of the town. You will find all sorts of maps, routes and tracks are very well described and if you need help by booking a hut or camping spot they are more than happy to help you out.
Queenstown Gardens
Every day I would end my day for some reflections at the Queenstown Gardens overlooking the Lake Wakatipu with a great view of Ben Lomond in the background. Amazed by how long the Skyline Gondola would still run… and enjoying the lively scenery at the beach front.
The Botanical Park itself is worth a stroll around. It hosts some magnificent historic Giant Sequoias. Very relaxing to sit with them and gaze up to the sky. They go just forever on and on! I also love the bronze statue of a happy dog in the pond. Did some Qi Gong and wrote my diary. What a beautiful spot to get inspiration for the next day to come.
Ben Lomond Track
An absolute must-do Track is the challenging full day hike up to Ben Lomond. It might not be suitable for everyone, but there’s a variety of ways to make this hike shorter and easier. For example: taking the Skyline Gondola up and walk only untill the Saddle. It is not the same as the Summit, but the views are breath-taking anyway!
Anyway, I went up early in the morning, got myself a nice Chai-Latte before getting started. The Track starts left from the Skyline Gondola (which was not even open at that hour…) and leads through a lovely forest with some bigger steps. You will pass several platforms from the Zipline Tree Track. At that time, nobody was there yet.
Once you’re out of the forest, you reach an open area of alpine tussock with lots of clumping grasses. It was a beautiful sunny day and I even got to see two young bucklings (goat). I loved, that it was still so quiet. Only a few people went up around the same time.
The Track features some steeper ascents, but it varies in a pleasent way. Just before reaching the Saddle, there’s a toilet. Quite nice actually and definitely cleaner than the bathroom of my hostel! (never stayed in such a dirty place,…not even in India!)
From the Saddle on the terrain chances once more. A small path leads all the way to the summit, partly through some rough scramble of rocks. The weather conditions can change quickly here. I couldn’t see the Summit once hiking up, as it was covered in clouds. The higher up I keep, the more it cleared up. Reaching the 1.748 Ben Lomond Summit I got rewarded with the most impressive view!
For those who know me well…. I did “my ceremony” to celebrate being so blessed. Had a fancy lunch (Hamburger left-over from Nicola’s Birthday the day before! First time in my life having a Burger on a Summit…) and a nice chat with fellow hikers.
As it got windy soon after, I didn’t linger much longer and started descending. Around 2 p.m. lots of people came still hiking up, just after the first section of forest. Surprisingly I found. Most people would probably only go till the Saddle (1.326 m) for the view.
Distance: 14 km Grade: Demanding, steep with elevation gain of 1.438
Duration: a full day hike (6 – 8 hrs from centre of town till summit – return)
