FLIGHT TALES

I’m not a fan of helicopters. I have a real sense of vulnerability being miles up in the air surrounded only by a metal casing large enough to house the few inhabitants. However, what causes my fear is also the thing that makes helicopter rides so incredibly exciting.

- Lynne Dickinson

We left the base of The Helicopter Line at Queenstown airport and headed straight towards the West Coast. Our final destination was to be Milford Sound, however as they often say, it’s all about the journey. I have a couple of places in New Zealand that I hold very dear to my heart, one of them being the Routeburn.

I had been fortunate enough to walk the Greenstone Valley and the Routeburn 5 years ago with my best friend and it is an experience I have been talking about to Steve (my husband) ever since. The day before the helicopter ride we had visited the lower reaches of the Routeburn with Canyon Explorers and I had been pointing out landmarks to him in an effort to share my previous experience. So you can imagine my excitement as our pilot, Callum, explained that we would be flying up the Routeburn track and proceeded to point out significant landmarks along the way. Anyone who has walked the Routeburn would know the absolute wonder of those places, usually only accessible by foot, yet here we were, hovering a few hundred feet above them and being able to share them with Steve from the air.

Still in awe from seeing the Routeburn from the air, I didn’t think much could top that, yet as we flew over a ridge it seemed the whole of the Southern Alps appeared in front of us. Huge mountainous peaks were visible from every direction and glaciers and ice flows surrounded us. Callum kept us informed along the way, pointing out significant landmarks and kept my mind distracted from feeling vulnerable.