Ben Lomond Track via Old Skyline Road

Adventuring up to Ben Lomond's summit is an out-and-back day hike with views that are arguably more rewarding than some of those you get on New Zealand's Great Walks. You can take the Skyline gondola part way up if you want to shorten the climb, but I usually start at the small signposted carpark on Lomond Crescent and take the 4-WD track up the first stretch. It's supposedly a 6-8 hour hike to the summit, but it's possible to get to the summit and down again in under 4 hours if you're speedy. The track is well defined and family-friendly, but it's completely uphill and rather exposed until you reach the summit.You start off walking through native Beech forest and invasive wilding pines, and then at about 800 meters you get above the tree line and alpine tussocks dominate the landscape. About 3/4 of the way up you reach a bench at the Ben Lomond Saddle and get your first glimpse of the Southern Alps on the backside of Ben Lomond. Many people call it a day once they get there, but climbing the final stretch to the summit is incredibly worthwhile since you get 360-degree views of the Lake Wakatipu Basin and Southern Alps. You'll see Moke Lake below and Mount Aspriring in the distance, as well as Mount Earnslaw and the Shotover river, views of downtown Queenstown and all the way out towards the Remarkables and Kawarau river, and on and on and on....

The Ben Lomond track also connects to the Moonlight Track at the saddle, so you can take that track down to Arthur's Point if you want to avoid and out-and-back, but you would have to arrange a car drop because it would make the adventure a point-to-point. And if you're really ambitious, rather than taking the Moonlight Track out to Arthur's Point, you could take it to Moke Lake.

*More info on the other tracks can be found here.