50-Minute Glacier Explorer & Earnslaw Burn Flight, Queenstown

Lift off from Queenstown and fly across a striking sweep of alpine terrain, from the steep rock walls of Skippers Canyon to the braided rivers of the Rees Valley, before heading deeper into Mt Aspiring National Park.

Along the way, the flight reveals glaciers, ice falls and remote alpine lakes from above, giving a clear sense of the scale and shape of this high country landscape. One of the standout sections is Earnslaw Burn, where a hanging glacier feeds a network of waterfalls that spill into the valley below. It is a dramatic natural feature, and one that was also used in The Lord of the Rings.

A key part of the experience is a landing on top of a snowy glacier, where you can step out into the alpine environment itself. Surrounded by ice and high peaks, this stop adds a real sense of place to the flight and offers time to take in the stillness of the landscape from the ground.

This Queenstown helicopter journey combines a glacier landing with a broad aerial view of some of the South Island’s best-known mountain scenery, including Skippers Canyon, the Rees Valley, Mt Aspiring National Park and Earnslaw Burn.