Ben Lomond and Bowen Peak are a pair of prominent mountains, accessible on foot from Queenstown, Otago, South Island. They share an access track, which tends to have a lot of hikers, because Ben Lomond is one of New Zealand’s most popular alpine hikes.

Is there a quieter way to reach Ben Lomond Saddle, where one can choose between Ben Lomond and Bowen Peak? Yes. Moonlight Track is a long track leading from a trailhead in Queenstown suburb Arthur’s Point, north and west around the back of Bowen Peak, and south to the saddle.

Don’t confuse Arthur’s Point with Arthur’s Pass, a mountain village in Canterbury.

Time

It took me about 4 hours to reach Ben Lomond Saddle from the trailhead. Note that this is a one-way time for an incomplete hike. More info at Ben Lomond vs Bowen Peak.

Route

I took a taxi ($34) from Queenstown to the trailhead in Arthur’s Point, which is on a road also known as Moonlight Track. At the trailhead, there is a clear difference in conditions between the dirt road ‘track’ and the rougher hiking track.

The beginning of the track has views across Shotover Canyon to Mt Dewar, where I hiked a short trail to the summit on another day.

The track passes through hilly cow pasture for a few hours. Twice I left the track to avoid cows, and picked my way through the bushes. The track is also muddy in places, partly due to a few small stream crossings.

At some point, according to the topomap, the track changes its name to Ben Lomond Track. This is confusing. I would have declared that the Ben Lomond Track runs from Queenstown to the saddle, not to an arbitrary point past the saddle. The name change may indicate where the farm easement turns into a track on public land.

Besides being much quieter and passing through a new valley, does Moonlight Track have any other advantages over the normal route to Ben Lomond? Not really. It is one of the Queenstown Lakes region walks that I recommend the least.

If 1 is an easy track, and 4 is using hands and feet on exposed rocks, I give this track a 2 at its worst.

Other posts on Moonlight Track

• https://churnewzealand.com/moonlight-track-queenstown/

• https://jontynz.com/2016/06/11/moonlight-track-and-outflanking-cows/ (appropriate title)

• https://www.alltrails.com/trail/new-zealand/otago/arthurs-point-via-ben-lomond-walkway-and-moonlight-track

Other lesser-known hikes beyond Ben Lomond (none of which I’ve done)

• https://hikingscenery.com/moke-lake-viewpoint-williamson-spur/

• https://hikingscenery.com/mt-hanley-from-moke-lake/