Queenstown Hill

Queenstown hill is a short hike over looking the town. As we didn’t take the Gondola ride to Bob’s Peak, we decided to hike the hill instead. The elevation gain was as high and views would be similar. We would only miss out on the luge ride down. Having already hiked a fair amount on our trip, we weren’t too keen on doing the longer Ben Lemond hike.

The trail head is at the end of a residential street. We parked our car and started hiking. The trail was steep right from the beginning but it was shaded by a dense Douglas fir jungle. The edge of the trail was lined with fallen pine cones. Every so often we would get a glimpse of the town, Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables. A switchback along the trail had a number cairns scattered on the floor, almost like a colony.

Coming out of the forest we made our way to the top of the hill. It was a clear day and we had great views of Queenstown’s surrounding areas. Paragliders were taking off from Bob’s Peak adding a colourful touch to the skies. We sat down for a while and enjoyed the peace and serenity. A couple of gentleman passed by wearing what looked like office going clothes. I thought they were so lucky to be able to take such a lovely break! We walked down to clearing above the tree line to the Basket of Dreams sculpture. The plaque read: The Basket’s spiral of steel follows you inward to reflect to draw inspiration from the mountains, lake and from those who are with you outward to dream for the future. Time flies, eternity awaits.

We sat on the bench next to the sculpture which had three words carved into it. I felt them being significant as we were celebrating our first wedding anniversary.