Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand.

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We only really had two full days in Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand.

One of them was ear marked for a parkrun and the other, we were hoping to do a decent hike and see some of the famous country side this area is known for but with only a couple of days We were going to be at the mercy of the weather gods.

Even heading into summer nothing is guaranteed. The Long the range forecast was saying rain and high winds which even though it might be impossible with our lack of gear, training and fitness it probably would not be wise for us to tackle something outside our comfort zone.

Lucky the weather reports improved and we were keen to give it a go, being out and back meant we could just head back if things turned nasty.

We had been watching our step count over the last couple of weeks and trying to do a bit more but the 1550 metres of elevation gain was always going to be a good challenge.

The rain stayed away and the wind was playing fair, we just needed to hang on to everything In a couple of exposed places on a Ridge and the saddle.

It took 4 hours to cover the 8km to get to the top. Just under 3 hours on the way down.

We were up early and there weren't that many people on the track. l taking lots of photos when I noticed my travel debit card must have slipped out of my phone case. Not the end of the world but very annoying that I had made such a rookie mistake. We back tracked a few hundred metres trying to remember where I took the last photo from but after a few minutes, I was second guessing myself and wondering if I had left the card in our accommodation. Best just to push on to the top and keep my eye out on the way back down.

The start of the Tiki trail just above Queenstown Cemetery. The rope and cones are to separate the mountain bike trail.

At the top of the Tiki trail is a gondola, restaurant and luge track. Which is also the start of the Ben Lomond trail.

Finally at the saddle, the track is not maintained from this point.

I could zoom in on Mount Cardrona is 1,936 metres high from our position on the top of Ben Lowond, mountain bikes in summer, skiing and boarding in winter.

The wind at the top was not as bad as I was expecting. Strong wind on the saddle had me worried that the top might be dangerous. I suppose on this day the winds down low were just gusting between the mountains and over the saddle.The views at the top were stunning and well worth the achy legs so much so that I had forgotten about my missing credit card until we crossed another couple of hikers on the way down who asked if I was missing a card? They happily handed it over when I mentioned my name.Such a bonus to have a couple of nice people find and return my card saving me the hassle of having cancel it. — The wind at the top was not as bad as I was expecting. Strong wind on the saddle had me worried that the top might be dangerous. I suppose on this day the winds down low were just gusting between the mountains and over the saddle.

The views at the top were stunning and well worth the achy legs so much so that I had forgotten about my missing credit card until we crossed another couple of hikers on the way down who asked if I was missing a card? They happily handed it over when I mentioned my name.

Such a bonus to have a couple of nice people find and return my card saving me the hassle of having cancel it.

Just over 18 kilometres as I started my watch from our accommodation and stopped it at Vudu Cafe where we grabbed a late lunch.

More than 1550 metres of elevation gain to get to the top of at 1748 metre above sea level. 6 hours and 7 minutes of moving time, 6:59 moving time as we had a number of breaks.

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