At the end of yet another hot and sunny day, I can't quite believe my luck with this weather! Fingers crossed it doesn't change any time soon...

I got up at 7.30 this morning so I could get out and up into the mountains before it became too hot. I climbed Ben Lomond, which is 1748m above sea level, starting out from Lake Wakatipu at 310m. There is a cable car up the first 400m or so, which takes you to the Skyline restaurant (but using that would have been cheating of course!)

The first 35-40 minutes is a very steep track up through dense forest, so much so that it was actually quite dark, which then opens out to magnificent views of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountains. The next part is called Ben Lomond Shoulder, where the path is a little less steep and many people just go this far for the views.
The last part of the climb is a bit more exposed, but feels perfectly safe on a clear, still day. The path is steep and rocky up to the summit, where this time, there wasn't anyone around to take my picture - although i tried to do it myself and failed. You'll have to settle for this picture of the summit and just believe me when i say that I was actually there! It took 1 hour and 45 minutes in total to reach the top. The best thing about the views up there was that I could see mountains in every direction. Queenstown is surrounded by mountains and they were all I could see for miles, it was wonderful!

Although there were a few people coming up after me, I was surprised how few people come up the mountain, especially considering that Queenstown is bustling with tourists and the base of the mountain is right by the centre of the town. I suppose the cable car and restaurant is quite popular though. It took less than an hour to come back down again, so I was back at the hostel by 12 and still had most of the day left to relax.

The first thing I did afterwards was to follow strict orders (from several people) to try a Fergburger. Now I'm not really the burger eating type, as you all know, but these have a pretty big reputation so I had to do it! I went for the classic and they are very tasty but absolutely massive! Having bought one, I had to eat it all of course, (that's the challenge!) so I am proud/ashamed that I did manage it after at least an hour! That's one more "must-do" ticked off the list anyway!

I spent the rest of the day relaxing, wandering round town and reading by the lake. My nice hostel room was empty so it was lovely to have my own space for a while and some peace and quiet!