Queenstown, New Zealand - Polarsteps

Arthurs Point - Ben Lomond Summit New Zealand, travel day 118 We took it easier, I woke up, call mum, had breakfast and get some work done, I was also playing with the camera doing some timelapse, I had to try a couple of times but I like how the result looks. Around 12:30 we had lunch and get ready to go, let me share this adventure details. I wanted to summit Ben Lomond 1748m (~5700 ft) long time ago since we arrived in Queenstown a few days back, the weather was horrible and they advised not to, so this time weather looked good and I told Clara was going to be memorable. We started hiking around 2pm, the first part of the track its steep but doable, easy I would say. It took us around 45 min to arrived to the saddle, and then I realized we had started too soon. From the saddle to the summit we had about 1h 15 min, I would say the last part was very steep, can't imagine how shitty would be with strong wind and ice, we had some ice but not slippery. After 2h we summit Ben Lomond and the view was spectacular, nothing like this one before, 360 view if the Southern Alps, Queenstown and The Remarkables, really impressed, and Clara's highlight of the trip so far. It was a long walk, with very steep areas, but manageable, but when you reach the top is very rewarding. On your way down at sunset I realized the Milky Way will be in front of us perfectly aligned with Queenstown, so I begged Clara to stay and get the shot. I must admit it was cold, dark and we were in the middle of the mountain, I knew the track but didn't know the right location, finally I found a pretty spot, captured some Milky Way pictures and headed down totally in the dark. Kudos to Clara for waiting and staying ext to me while taking all the pictures, it was a long and cold wait, totally worthy.