10 January 2011

13 Km (8 Miles) on Foot

Today we decided to scale Ben Lomond, one of the highest peaks in the Queenstown region according to both the Rough Guide and our huffing, puffing lungs and achey legs. On our way up and not more than 20 minutes after we had commented that we really needed a Guide on this trek, here came Denny.  Now Denny had to be pushing nearly twice Gina’s age.  But Denny hustled our bums all the way to Ben Lomond Saddle, reached in half the time the trailhead sign said it would take (45 vs 90 minutes).  And during this rush to the top, Denny chatted away as though on a Sunday walk in the park.  Meanwhile, Gina kept hinting at our need to stop for lunch, finally announcing at the sign pointing to the summit that we would stop for a sandwich there.  Denny was having none of that.  “There’s a bench at the saddle” he said, and onward we climbed until said bench was reached.  As much as we enjoyed his company, which we truly did, we were a bit relieved that he was not accompanying us any farther up the trail, or we might not have survived the final push to the summit.

Besides his good company, probably the best advice we got from Denny was that the gondola operators rarely check for tickets on the way down.  Thanks Denny, you saved our exhausted feet at least an hour’s trek.