We started from our accommodation in town and walked up the 1 Mile Creek track at Fern hill, though native bush to the One Mile Dam pump house, which was part of the first hydroelectric scheme in NZ.
On the One Mile Track.
The One Mile Dam.
After a short section of track through further native bush, which followed the old pipeline, the track then entered plantation and climbed steeply up through the forest for a while, part of this is on gravel forestry roads, and is shared with mountain bikes. A good track is then picked up which climbs out of the bush and across subalpine scrub to the saddle at 1316m. There are some good spots here for morning tea.
Ben Lomond from near the saddle.
From here the final steep climb to the summit can be seen, the track still of a good standard winds it's way up and sidles around the summit cone before popping out on top. As expected the views are extensive.
Lake Wakatipu from the summit.
On the summit of Ben Lomond.
Looking towards the Southern Alps from the summit.
We returned by more or less the same route, though I continued along the ridge between Bush Creek and 1 Mile Creek to drop directly down to the dreadful Skyline complex, where at least the fact you could sit and watch Para gliders was a slightly redeeming feature.
Paraglider over Lake Wakatipu.
A sidle track then cuts back through the forest and returns you back halfway through the pine plantation above Fern hill.
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