Hike and fly

Sorry guys that you had to wait for such a long time until I post my last weekend.
For those who are frequently on facebook might have seen my comment about hike and fly. Here follows the full explanation about this trip.

Although I went out on Saturday I got up at half past nine, picked up my glider and took the next bus to town. It was a bit windy, but not to much, so I was sure I could fly today. Surprisingly, when I walked up from the gondola to the take off place, I could hear the wind in the tree, which is a no-go for flying. Indeed, at my start place, there was a strong crosswind, even too strong for ground handling. I waited for about fifteen minutes and couldn't see any change, so I decided, instead of waiting I could go hiking. I had follewed the ridge until I came to the walking track, which goes up to Ben Lomond saddle and top. On my way to the saddle I crossed many hikers, but none of them had a bigger backpack.
Surprisingly I walked quite fast and reached the saddle after one hour fifteen. The wind up there was at least as strong as at my start place, which wasn't a surprise because I walked the whole time against the wind.

Wrong direction and maybe a bit too strong ;-)

However, once at the saddle I thought why shouldn't I go to the top as well? So I went on. I stopped my time, because I wanted to know how long it would take me compared to the last time. After 45min I was on the summit, with only eight minutes longer than without my glider!

I didin't rest for a long time up there because of the strong wind and walked down again.
Finally, after 3 hours 45 minutes, I was back at the take off place, where the wind was ok to start. Although it was a bit turbulent in the air, I could enjoy the flight and landed five minutes later on the rugby pitch in Queenstown. It wasn't the best flight ever, but a great reward after all that hiking.