The Ben Lomond plinth and alidade at the summit. Photo / Mountain SceneThe Ben Lomond plinth and alidade at the summit. Photo / Mountain SceneA lightning bolt has blown a plinth and alidade atop Queenstown's Ben Lomond to smithereens. Following two recent thunder and lightning storms in the Wakatipu, Queenstown geographer Phil Parent says he hiked up Ben Lomond, behind Queenstown, on September 30. But when he reached the summit, ''socked in and cloudy'', he became disorientated because ''there was no plinth''.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 08, 2021 01:41 UTC