2024 New Zealand: December 30th Ben Lomond

 

It was cool enough to wear a jacket in the morning when we got out of the car at the Queenstown gondola. We had snacks, full water bottles, jackets and raingear.

The gondola wasn’t open when we got there, but after buying tickets (a family ticket was cheaper than individual tickets) we didn’t end up waiting very long before the gondola got started and we were amongst the first to board.

Once at the top, we followed the signs for Ben Lomond, helpfully marked with time and distance by the department of conservation. We felt a few drops early on, but soon it was dry, though the clouds never completely lifted. The forest around us looked strange, with some of them with grey leaves. We would later discover that pine trees were an invasive species and the department of conservation was trying to kill them off!

Boen was not himself today. He was coughing, and had a strong sense of malaise. By the time we got to the saddle, it was obvious he didn’t want to be there, and didn’t want to try for the Ben Lomond summit. I took out the meat pies and some snacks, and gave them to Bowen and Boen, as once one brother decided not to summit the other one used that as an excuse not to summit.

Xiaoqin and I pushed on up the summit. It wasn’t a super tough hike, but the days had taken a toll on Xiaoqin as well, and we had to take many rest stops for her to catch her breath. The weather was a lot like our time on the Kepler track: the clouds would form an impenetrable layer, but once in a while they would part and we’d get strong beams of sunshine and beautiful views. Despite the summit not being in sight and under fog we decided to push on in the hopes that just like on the Kepler, we would get a grand view.

We got to the summit after an hour and a half under cloudy skies and no views, but while eating our lunch the clouds parted and granted us fantastic views of the surrounds, including Moke Lake far below us. Nearby hiking trails were also revealed. We must have spent at least an hour taking pictures before reluctant heading down as the sprinkles started again.

On the way down we met up again with Bowen and Boen, who weren’t eager to go below the treeline without us. The downhill was easier, but by the time we got back to the gondola it had started to rain, and it was quite wet by the time we got to the car, which made me feel good about paying the exorbitant price for the gondola.

We bought some more food at the local supermarket but of course the highlight of the day was the Sherwood Queenstown restaurant. I started a load of laundry just before dinner and then by the time dinner was done (interrupted by a run to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer) the laundry was dry. I settled up the bill so we could check out early and then we repacked for the Milford Sound cruise the next day. We packed a night’s worth of clothing, swim gear, waterproof camera, and a CPAP battery into the backpacking backpacks. We packed the rest of the gear in such a way that everything would fit into the car. It would be a long drive to Milford Sound so I got the kids to bed early. Boen’s cough was not getting better though, so we made plans to visit a pharmacy the next day so we could buy some cough medicine.