Heli Anyone?

Ok.  Here's my idea of adventure.  Anything to do with a helicopter.

Lis and Minio, our good friends, had mentioned how much they had enjoyed the helicopter flight above the glaciers in New Zealand.  This sounded like a good idea to me but I wasn't sure how much time we would have for this activity.  You see, today was the marathon driving day from Wanaka to Blenheim.  It may have been about 500 miles of driving but it was nearly all on winding back roads, not superhighways that we are accustomed to in the States.

But I digress...  The helicopter flight.  As we were passing through the Fox Glacier/Franz Josef Glacier area, I was somehow able to find an outfit to fly us up over the glaciers within the next hour.  We had a long drive that day but a midday distraction seemed like a good idea.

We took the long, 40-minute flight that went over both glaciers as well as Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman, the two highest peaks in New Zealand (roughly around 12,500 feet I believe).  It's a lot of money for these types of adventures but it's mind-bending stuff, worth every stinking penny in my opinion.  Plus, I LOVE helicopters.

Laurie, putting on a good face again.  For the flight to the glacier we were in the back seats.  Another couple was up front with the pilot.

Here is a look at the Franz Josef area where there were many adventure company headquarters.

In an instant, you are thrown into a world that is simply incredible.  Mind hurts now.

Some hikers on one of the glaciers.  Next time...

Our pilot and our vehicle.  This 25-year old pilot was excellent.  We had about 6 or 7 minutes to walk around on this snowfield at the top of Fox Glacier.  Little wind.  Perfect temperature.  Glorious views.  In a word - stunning.

Sir Edmund Hillary cut his teeth on Mt. Cook before his successful ascent of Everest.  Here is Mt. Cook:

Right next to Mt. Cook is Mt. Tasman, just a hair lower in elevation but equally stunning.

Here we are frolicking in the NZ snow:

I didn't quite catch the name of this flowering (?) NZ tree but it was impressive. 

The remainder of the day was an exercise in patience as we still had about 6 hours to go to reach Blenheim in the far north of the South Island.  It was a beautiful drive but it required constant concentration as the road was quite curvy the entire way.

Thankfully, as we arrived at Ugbrooke Country Estate at about 10:30pm, the owners were waiting for us and even offered us a glass of sauvignon blanc for a nightcap.  Perfect.  What wonderful hosts and I will have more on this incredible place in the next entry...