One of the many highlights around Queenstown that we could not fit in was a typical trip to Milford Sound, which usually takes 12 – 14 hours, most of it on a bus just so you can take a short cruise in the Sound (which is actually a fjord). Instead, we cut out most of the travel time and took a helicopter tour. Unlike most heli-tours where you only see things from above, we spent half a day and enjoyed a more immersive tour of Fjordland. After taking off from Queenstown, our pilot–Renee–angled northwest over the Southern Alps to see the peaks and glaciers. Our first stop was near the top of a mountain so we could hike on the glacier.
The only way to access this remote glacier near a peak in the Southern Alps
On top of the world–on a glacier in the Southern Alps
We dropped off the top of this mountain and followed the Hollysford Valley to the Tasman Sea. Here we landed again and walked on a secluded beach with crashing surf that made it all but inaccessible.
Secluded beach in Fjordland, north of Milford Sound
Flying south down the coast of Fjordland we entered the northernmost fjord as a cruise ship was leaving it–Milford Sound. While not very long, the shear drop from Mitre Peak to the ocean is a staggering 5,521 feet. After the short flight up the sound, a sharp right turn took us past Sandfly Point, up the valley that comprised the latter part of the Milford Track. Sutherland Falls, at 1,904 feet, is spectacular when seen from below, but flying over the top to see Lake Quill feeding it defies description.
Lake Quill, the second hanging lake and the origin of Sutherland Falls.
More amazing, still, was landing thousands of feet above Lake Quill near another hanging lake that feeds Lake Quill and ultimately Sutherland Falls.
First hanging lake, 5,000 feet above the base of Sutherland Falls, Milford Track
Flying over the Southern Alps, heading back to Queenstown.