Date: 13th October 2011

Heliworks Queenstown Helicopters

I recently had the pleasure of flying with Heliworks on a couple of photographic assignments around Queenstown…

Heliworks pilot John Haora took me up in a R44, flying low over Lake Wakatipu and the Kawarau river to photograph the new Hilton resort complex. The key to the shot was getting in just the right position to include the lakefront, river and Remarkables mountain range to show off just how stunning the hotel’s location really is.

A group of us then took a tour in a larger Eurocopter Squirrel, piloted by Jason Laing who took us around The Remarkables, Lochy River, Cecil Peak and Earnslaw Burn with some jaw dropping views and mountain top precision landings that were just unbelievable. My hat goes off to Jason who displayed some amazing skills when controlling the chopper, at one point landing right at the top of one peak on a seemingly impossible ledge.

Mount Earnslaw and it’s glacier was very impressive the last time I visited by foot, but flying directly over the ice and down to the base of the valley was a whole new experience. I loved the hike, but in future I know which mode of transport I’ll be taking!

I cannot recommend Heliworks highly enough to anyone visiting Queenstown, check out their website here: www.heliworks.co.nz and for more images from this set see the Heliworks Facebook page.

Posted in: New Zealand, Travel Blog

Tags: Cecil Peak, Earnslaw Burn, Helicopters, Heliworks, Hilton, Kawarau, Photoshoot, Queenstown, Remarkables