Christchurch to Aoraki Mount Cook helicopter tour

Check in and weighing of passengers. Meet your pilot and be given an extensive helicopter safety briefing. Toilet stop before departing.

Depart south towards Aoraki Mount Cook, heading over the fertile farmland of the Canterbury Plain. View the variation of farming activity in the fields below from sheep & dairy farming to crops.

The mighty Southern Alps, a mountain range extending along the length of New Zealand's South Island. The mountain ranges are bisected by glacial valleys, many of which are infilled with glacial lakes on the eastern side

Lake Pukaki, Lake Tekapo and others in the Mackenzie region. All three lakes were formed when the terminal moraines of receding glaciers blocked their respective valleys, forming moraine-dammed lakes. The glacial feed to the lakes gives them a distinctive blue colour, created by glacial flour, the extremely finely ground rock particles from the glaciers

If weather allows land atop the mountain ledge of Liebig Dome, which overlooks New Zealand's tallest mountain. Liebig Dome has a front-row seat to gaze upon Mount Cook, Sir Edmond Hillary’s training ground for Everest. Aoraki, its Maori name stands at some 12,218ft feet above sea level, its neighbour Mount Tasman at 11,476. Experience the beauty of the region at 8,000 ft above sea level. Capture the moment with a photo or simply to take in the stunning views. Seasonal snow landing only. Seasonal snow landing only.

Back on the helicopter, fly over the Tasman Glacier, called Haupapa in Maori, which is the largest glacier in New Zealand at nearly 15 miles long and 2,000 feet thick. Return to Christchurch via the mountains and mighty rivers.

Pass by areas known in the Lord of the Rings movies. Edoras was the capital city of Rohan. Otherwise known to the locals at Mount Sunday in the upper reaches of the Rangitata river. Edoras was where Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf met with King Théoden.

Lord of the rings facts about this tour. Twizel in the Mackenzie Country, the epic battle on Pelennor Fields, where thousands of orcs bred by Sauron clashed with the men of Gondor and Rohan on the grassy fields that stretch to the foothills of the mountains. Lake Pukaki and the mountain background provided the scene for the warg chase in An Unexpected Journey.

Take in the vast dry lands of the Mackenzie country basin the largest in New Zealand. Rich golden landscapes, powder blue canals and bright turquoise glacial landscapes. Over into the South Canterbury farming region back to Christchurch