Meet Your Hosts

The Fosters

The Foster Family are passionate about the future of the high country and have strived to ensure sustainable farming. The proximity of the station to Queenstown allows the Fosters to share this spectacular landscape they feel privileged to oversee.

John and Ginny Foster are the proud owners and managers of Ben Lomond Station. Originally farming a small coastal property in Golden Bay, their move to the high country in 1987 has proved to be one full of exciting challenges and hard-earned rewards. Their three adult children, Hamish, Megan and Julia, grew up with the privilege of a 33,500 acre backyard which cultivated a lasting love of the outdoors.

John and his loyal team of dogs manage all aspects of stock work and farm maintenance. The former Aucklander’s ‘gym’ is on the fourth stand in the woolshed where he personally sees to the shearing of the merinos. He is also known to cook mouthwatering meats on the outdoor barbecue for guests at Ben Lomond Lodge, and is an active member of various high country lobby groups.

Over many years Ginny fine-tuned the smooth running of hosting and catering for masses, whether they be hungry musterers or 40 corporate guests. She still manages to find time to lend a hand at the busy times such as tailing, dipping and shearing, and now enjoys spending time with her seven young grandchildren.

Hamish (with Rachael), Megan (with Anthony) and Julia (with Sam) are all involved in the station in some capacity while raising families in nearby towns. Such is their connection to this land that they all live within a couple hours drive from Ben Lomond Station and visit frequently with their children.

Our History

Ben Lomond Station has been a key part of Queenstown’s history for over 150 years.

The first run holder for Ben Lomond Station was William Rees, the founder of Queenstown. Ben Lomond was part of a run that was over 200,000 acres and included all the land in this area east of Lake Wakatipu. William Rees reportedly flipped a coin with another early pioneer, Nicholas von Tunzelmann, to decide who got which side of the lake!

Gold was discovered in the Moke and Moonlight Valleys in 1862 and brought a flood of miners. Over 3000 people lived in the Moke and Moonlight valleys during the gold rush.

These rivers were some of the richest in the world – there are stories of the early miners pulling up several ounces of gold with every shovelful – thousands of dollars today!

There is still gold in the rivers and terraces and a few keen people still seek it with modern equipment such as suction dredges and metal detectors. Hamish and Rachael’s wedding rings are made of gold that Hamish found in the Moonlight Valley.

Need directions?

Getting To The Station

Ben Lomond Station is nestled right behind Queenstown and is accessed by a 20 minute drive to Moke Lake. A further 40 minute 4WD trip takes you into the middle of the property where you will find our back country accommodation options; Ben Lomond Lodge and Moonlight Lodge.

Mountain bikers and hikers can also access the property and lodges via a variety of trails directly from Queenstown, providing a perfect low impact option for a multi-day hiking or biking escape. Options include via the iconic Ben Lomond Saddle directly from downtown Queenstown (for hikers), and with less elevation from Arthurs Point (10 minutes drive from Queenstown) or from Moke Lake.

Driving Instructions
Depart central Queenstown and head towards Glenorchy around the edge of Lake Whakatipu. After 7km turn right on to Moke Lake Road and follow this road until it ends (7km). Please note that the road turns a single lane gravel road, and you will meet other traffic. Please drive slowly and be prepared to give way to traffic.

Guests to Ben Lomond Station will receive additional instructions for access beyond Moke Lake.