Here’s something I’ll never forget. Despite having a neurological disorder that impacts my memory, or mental illness that makes my ability to hold memories even worse; the experience I had flying over the Franz Josef Glacier and landing atop snowy mountains will stay with me forever. The photos I got from this experience are amazing, but they will never compare to the real thing. So let’s go back to Franz Josef Newzeland, October 30 2024.
Now, my parents and I were tossing up whether or not we should do this helicopter ride over the Franz Josef Glacier, since it cost a fair bit of money. But this is something you don’t get to do very often. So we thought it’s better to regret spending the money we could have spent, than regret not taking this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Besides, money comes and goes; experiences don’t pass you every day. So, we rugged up in layers upon layers of clothing, packed our cameras, and off we went to Glacier Country Helicopters.
When we got there we were all given the necessary information, taken outside to the company’s van, and driven to the helipad. It was a bit of a bumpy ride but I was far too excited to even care. Each group was loaded up into their helicopter and taken to the skies! My parents and I were lucky enough to get a helicopter to ourselves, with a super sweet and funny pilot. And I won the lottery of getting the front seat! I felt like a true co-pilot, especially with the headphones on so that we could hear our pilot over the noise of the helicopter. With a few “check one-twos” and a couple clicks and flicks of the controls, we were off!
I never expected a helicopter take-off to be so smooth and so unsteady at the same time. It’s hard to explain, but I much prefer helicopter take-offs compared to planes! We flew over a few fields, along a river, and there in the distance was the Franz Josef Glacier. Again, this is only my second time seeing snow in person, the first being only days ago when we had arrived in Queenstown. But it was my first time seeing a glacier, so the views I had were absolutely unbelievable to me. The colours in the ice, the brightness of the snow, and the size of the glacier were just indescribable. I still can’t believe what I witnessed, and I will never let go of the emotions that erupted as we flew over.
As we got closer and closer, the awe just grew and grew. Flying over the glaciers and snow was just spell-bounding, it didn’t feel real at the time. The photos and videos I was able to take are stunning, but they will never come close to the sights we had of being there in person. Like the image I captured of the Tasman Lake; it looks like something you would only see as a screensaver! I can’t imagine how lucky the pilots of Glacier Country Helicopters must feel flying over these beautiful landmarks every day, and getting paid for it! It truly is a dream job. While we were flying over, our pilot was also telling us about the glacier and surrounding area before our snow landing. I can’t really tell you much of it though, since I was a little too focused on the sights below us.
We hopped out of the helicopter onto the piles and piles of snow. Again, the first time I saw snow there wasn’t enough to completely cover the ground, so this was breath-taking! I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Everywhere I looked there were just mountains of white. I probably looked pretty weird too doing a little dance to crumple the snow under my feet but it was just so satisfying! Dad didn’t think so however, he hated the feeling of the snow under his feet but he was still in awe of the views around us. I took a lot of photos of the surrounding mountains here, as well as myself in front of the helicopter we just flew in so that I can always look back on this moment. Our pilot also took a photo of the three of us standing in front of the helicopter, like all great tourist attractions.
Now it may not look it from the photos, but it was pretty loud up at the landing site with all the wind and helicopter noise. Our pilot was saying something to us about the other helicopter but I couldn’t quite hear him. It wasn’t until I was blasted in the face with cold icy snow from the other helicopter taking off that I realised our pilot was telling us to turn around away from the wind. Oh well. Lesson learned. We got back in our helicopter and took the long scenic route back to the helipad.
We followed glaciers, mountains, rivers and fields all while experiencing the beauty New Zealand has to offer. If I ever get the chance to fly in a helicopter again, I’m definitely taking it, because just flying over the country’s farmlands was such a fun experience. If you’ve read my post about Te Puia, Rotorua’s “geothermal wonderland”, you may remember me saying that it was my favourite destination for this holiday. But I can’t deny the emotions I felt while flying over the Franz Josef Glacier, the pristine snow-capped mountains, the gorgeous blue Tasman Lake, and the feeling of how small I was compared to all of it. This was my favourite part of New Zealand and my favourite experience in life. I’ll never forget you Franz Josef.
All photos in this post were taken by me.
for more information, visit https://glaciercountryhelicopters.co.nz/fox-glacier-flights/
The Travel Journal 
Leave a comment