Exploring New Zealand’s Glaciers by Helicopter

We looked up at the tallest mountains in New Zealand, guarded by glaciers on all sides, and thought, “How the heck are we going to get up there?” We could get a taste with a trek to the base or an ice hike around a few of the crevasses, but to get the full effect of 12,000-foot high Mount Cook and the 15 miles of Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers, we had to call in a chopper.

Passing beaches and lush forests, you can’t imagine that a glacier will ever appear, but then you see its jagged face push through the mountains and trickle into the sea. It’s gorgeous but a total tease, revealing only the edge of what extends for many miles into a fierce ice field.

To get up and personal with the almighty ice, we went with the awesome Alpine Adventures for a glacier flight. We signed up for their entry-level 20 minute trip and whirled up the moraine to 6,000 feet with views of Westland National Forest, Southern Alps, and the craggy white face.

We crossed the threshold of the glacier, marveling at its shark-tooth peaks and blue crevasses cut into the silky white snow.

We touched down in a nook of the mountain to take a little walk around this beautiful lake.

The 20-minute flight was amazing, but we knew we only scratched the surface of this awe-inspiring wonder….we had to go back up for more! Without hesitation, we booked 30 minutes more sky time with the Twin Glacier flight to see Fox Glacier and get closer to the peaks. While we waited in anticipation, we set off on the Franz Josef Glacier Walk. We lesiurely hiked the moraine towards the face, enjoying the waterfalls, glacier-ravaged rocks, and the closest lookout point.

We returned to the helipad and took flight over the forest to Fox glacier, and up towards the massive Mt. Tasman and Mount Cook — the country’s two tallest mountains. We felt humbled, like we needed to be a Sir Edmund Hillary to get so close to those peaks…and a little guilty that our aerial view was probably better than Hil’s.

Standing in a glacial valley surrounded by towering white mountains and a perfect blue sky was one of the most surreal spaces in time. In flight one, we saw a glacier but in flight two, we saw another world.