Brilliant and amazing. Amazing, we were so lucky with the weather. Took a longer flight and circled Mt Cook, saw the origin of... read moreAmazing, we were so lucky with the weather. Took a longer flight and circled Mt Cook, saw the origin of the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers. Could actually see the Tasman Ocean thru the clouds. Landed on a snow field. Excellent pilot, Simon, had a good commentary. Would do again anytime. The highlight of our NZ holiday. read ess

Great chopper ride Great chopper ride to see both the twin glacier. Nice view. With the snow landing for some great photos. Must try.

Amazing experience My wife and I booked the 30 minute flight, which included landing on the snow above the glacier. The helicopter... read moreMy wife and I booked the 30 minute flight, which included landing on the snow above the glacier. The helicopter ride was the highlight of our trip to NZ. Bill, the pilot, was reassuringly safe and provided an informative commentary. The views over the southern alps and the two glaciers was simply breathtaking. We were blessed with a perfect day, weatherwise for our flight. I would highly recommend this company for this trip. We are still on a high a day later. read ess

Fantastic Fox, Franz and Mount Cook! We only decided the night before that we were even going to book a helicopter flight over the glaciers.

If... read moreWe only decided the night before that we were even going to book a helicopter flight over the glaciers.

If you have limited time, do not have the right gear or can't face the 1.5 to 2 hr walk to come 400 to 500 meters from the terminal face...this trip is for you!

We booked the 30 min Fox/Franz fly over with Mount Cook views and a landing on Franz.

From the minute we called at 8am to arriving at The Alpine Adventure Centre, we were met with friendly and enthusiastic staff.

We arrived around 2.5 hours early from Greymouth and they kindly allowed us on the earlier flight - they must of sensed our excitement.

Bill was such a smooth and safe pilot but that didn't mean a boring ride...oh no! A wonderful, steep ascent over the mountains and gradual turns over the glaciers made the ride exhilarating!

I don't want to add spoilers here, please just book this trip, don't beat yourself up about the cost, just do it and worry about it later...it is worth every cent!

The commentary was brilliant but the views will literally take your breath away. Deep cracks with blue ice, formations that look straight out of a Sci-Fi movie and the snow, brilliant white snow!

When the flight came to the end it didn't feel too short but obviously you don't want it to come to an end.

If you don't want to hike on the glacier or walk to it, do not miss out on this bucket list experience.

I am writing this from my hotel and wondering how I will sleep tonight as I am still buzzing 5 hours later! read ess

'Simply the Best' We stayed in Haast en route from Wanaka to Franz Josef. On the morning of our departure we decided to... read moreWe stayed in Haast en route from Wanaka to Franz Josef. On the morning of our departure we decided to see what Haast Heliserviceshad to offer. We were very warmly greeted and the options were clearly explained to us. We fancied a glacier flight but we didn't want the 'industrial' scale operations found for Fox and Franz Josef. What we got was an extraordinary, memorable and wonderful experience. My wife and I flew with pilot Scott in the smaller of the two modern aircraft that are on offer. Our trip high above the Haast Pass gave superb views of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman but stunning close up views of the pristine glaciers atop Mt. Dechen. Scott flew us expertly and with great local expertise and knowledge. The whole experience felt personal and bespoke in an area where glacier flights are an industry in themselves.

I urge anyone considering glacier flights in this part of New Zealand to look beyond the highly publicised Fox and Franz Josef options. Visit these guys in Haast because they are SPECIAL!! No recommendation is high enough and we came away just thrilled by our time above this World Heritage Area in the company of Scott.

What a fantastic hour we had!! read ess

A tad squeezy but totally worth it! We were looking at reviews and also checking out the shops in Franz on the first day of our trip.... read moreWe were looking at reviews and also checking out the shops in Franz on the first day of our trip. The weather was changing drastically because they were expecting a cyclone which seems like a pretty regular thing so all flights were cancelled that day. We didn’t want to stay in Franz for another day to wait out and based on the suggestion, we decided to head south and loop back to tekapo on our last few days to try our luck again on helicopter. Both Tekapo Helicopter and Air Safari were our top choices but eventually we went with Tekapo because the lady were very helpful on the phone to make the arrangement for us. Highly recommend to take the grand tour on helicopter just for the experience, don’t go for less 🙂

P/S: you can’t bring any bags onto the copters so only a camera with you. They would also try to squeeze in 6 people if there are some folks who are smaller in size so just be aware the space is quite tight and they would rotate you beside front and back seats and shuffle you on the back so it’s not all bad view. Just make sure you speak out or ask for a swap in seating after landing on the pad above the peak. read ess

Awesome Experience! we took the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier loop on the helicopter and had a landing to take pics. ... read morewe took the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier loop on the helicopter and had a landing to take pics. Really a wonderful experience of a lifetime! not to be missed if u are heading to Franz Josef. We were only allowed to carry our cell phones or cameras on board and all else were locked up for us securely. V good service by the wonderful staff. read ess

Amazing!! Could not recommend this any higher, we took a quick flight along the coast to see a seal colony and... read moreCould not recommend this any higher, we took a quick flight along the coast to see a seal colony and also landed on top of one of the hills to take in the amazing views.

Great value and amazing service! read ess

One off the bucket list Thanks to Brad P, who gave us some excellent advice to try and get a flight in the late... read moreThanks to Brad P, who gave us some excellent advice to try and get a flight in the late afternoon rather than wait until the next day due to the changing weather conditions we had a fabulous flight with Josh. Brad obviously knows his stuff as the next day weather conditions look terrible. read ess