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Yep that's me, on the right, my wife Faith on the left and yes, that's a helicopter behind us on the snow. That's where I'd rather be right now...Not in my office which is, in fact, where I actually am at the moment.
This was taken a few months ago when we did a helicopter flight up onto the mountains and down into Mt Earnslaw Burn in New Zealand. We took my mother in law who had only just survived cancer - She wanted to live a little. I don't blame her.
You can see the mountains below and the Burn also; A huge valley gouged out by a glacier many millions of years ago. These were taken from the helo.
We flew to the top of a mountain nearby, landed on the snow for a bit of an explore and a view over Queenstown and then flew over to Mt Earnslaw and landed down on the ground inside the Burn to see what we could see, and soak up the absolute beauty, peace and quiet...It was amazing.
The helicopter flight started back at Queenstown airport and we had it charted for 90 minutes so had a nice amount of flying time and time in Mt Earnslaw Burn as well.
Here is the helo landed on the top of the mountain. This spot ovelooked the valley leading back down to Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu so the view was quite stunning. The real hero of the flight was Mt Earnslaw though and the glacier-carved valley below it. Here you can see Faith exiting the helo...It would have been cooler to fast-rope down from the hovering aircraft but we weren't allowed. Damned insurance liability!
Once landed the pilot melted away and we were left to simply take in the surroundings. It was quiet, comfortably cool and smelled very fresh indeed. Around us on the mountain-face snow-melt caused waterfalls to cascade downwards which looked pretty nice. YOu can see this in the video below and images. I tasted some of the water too...It tasted like...Well, water, but fresh...Probably mixed with bird poo though I guess. No pain no gain right? I heard it has healing qualities...(Not really, I made that up).
We flew with Heliworks, the only operator permitted to land at Mt Earnslaw Burn. We found them to be really accommodating and helpful both in the booking process and the tour itself. We'll be back for sure.
We wandered a little, then just took a seat and drank it in, which is what Faith is doing here - It was hard to wipe the grins from our faces...This is one of the most peaceful places I have ever bean in my life...And I'll go back.
The tour was over all too soon however and we had to head back over the mountains to Queenstown airport. I took this photo as we made our way over. It was a little rough on the way back, especially as we came over the mountain peaks because the air deflects upwards and disrupts the aircraft - It wasn't uncomfortable though, and all added to the experience of it.
I've spent some time in helicopters over the years and they never fail to amaze me...They should't fly really, but fortunately they do, and are incredible works of engineering. I have flown over a lot of places but never have they been so spectacular. I would do this again in a heart-beat and highly recommend the experience to any heading to New Zealand.
If you're keen to see some in-flight video of our tour feel free to click below. It's nothing special, just some GoPro footage that sort of puts it into perspective. It runs for 6:11 minutes.
Thanks for reading...Now you know where I'd rather be right now on this Wednesday afternoon.
Tomorrow isn't promised - Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default
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