Our One and Only Adventure in a Helicopter #MondayBlogs #Memories #photographs #Adventures @NewZealand @MountCook

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We’d wanted to go to New Zealand for years. And one of us had wanted to go in a helicoptor for … well… for a long time. So, when the opportunity came, and finances allowed, we went. What I didn’t know was that someone had booked a trip to the summit of Mount Cook.

The New Zealand Southern Alps are a range of mountains formed millions of years ago by the clashing of the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates. Mount Cook (also called Aoraki – Cloud Piercer) at 3753 metres is the highest peak. And the highest place I’ve ever been – and most probably ever will go. It was truly spectacular. And, if I’m honest, rather Intimidating. But, if we’d gone before 1991, it would have been even more nail-biting. In that year a mighty avalanche sent millions of tons of debris crashing onto the glacier below, losing ten metres from the summit and completely changing the eastern face of the mountain.

Mount Cook is bordered by two glaciers: the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier towards the west coast. I think, at this stage I was just hoping we could land safely… and not on a glacier.

Mount Cook, helped Sir Edmund Hillary to develop his climbing skills in preparation for the conquest of Everest at the age of thirty-three. On the twenty-ninth of May 1953, at around 11:30am he and his Sherpa mountain guide Tenzing Norgay successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest (8844.43m), becoming the first man to stand on the top of the highest mountain in the world.

The first recorded ascent of Mount Cook is by the New Zealand climbing trio of Jack Clarke, Tom Fyfe and George Graham, who reached the top of the mountain on Christmas day in 1894.

According to Māori (Ngāi Tahu) legend, Aoraki and his three brothers were the sons of Rakinui (the Sky Father). While on a sea voyage around the Papatūānuku, (the Earth Mother) their canoe became stranded on a reef. Aoraki and his brothers climbed onto the top side of their canoe when it overturned. The freezing south wind turned them to stone.

Those tiny figures are us, together with the other passenger and the pilot. As I’d glued the photographer to my side when we first got out of the helicopter, I haven’t a clue who took this photo! Whoever it was, they didn’t get back in the helicopter with us. There could be a story somewhere in that!

It was rather bright… and cold… and windy. The photographer clutched tight hold of his camera. And, as I said, I clutched tight hold to him.

I think by the time he’d finished we had about fifty photographs of the summit and surrounding mountain peaks. He does like to take every angle from all accessible places. I did get a little worried at times at his definition of accessible.

Back safe! It occurred to me afterwards, when I looked back on some of the more difficult hikes we’ve done, how different it is being in control of where your feet go on rocky trails, and how nervous I was actually standing on top of Mount Cook when I knew there was only one way down!

I think this is his “we did it” stance. And let’s go again! 

But I was happy to go to the Aoraki Mount Cook village (known mostly for being the top South Island basecamp for climbers, where about only two hundred and fifty people live and there are only around ten pupils in the local school; New Zealand’s only school inside a national park) for some much needed refreshments.

And, anyway, the clouds had descended once more and all flights were off for the day. Phew!!

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35 thoughts on “Our One and Only Adventure in a Helicopter #MondayBlogs #Memories #photographs #Adventures @NewZealand @MountCook”

    • Hahaha – we could have all clung on, David… the more ballast the better would have been my point of view right at that moment! But, yes, it was glorious. Thank you for dropping by – good to see you here. Hugs back. 😊

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    • That’s such a shame,Rosie. We just managed a window in the clouds. The worst thing for me was to see the party who were waiting after us was a bride and groom and their flight was cancelled. At the time I would have happily changed bookings with them if I’d known. But now I am so glad we had the experience.

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  7. One of those once-in-a-lifetime moments and you seized it – along with the photographer! You must have some awesome memories of the place. xx

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  9. Glad you like it. I read it once, in a slightly different form, and have used it as my motto ever since. Just came back from a trip to Thailand, on my own, to visit my brother. Had so much fun which proves the quote once again.

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    • It was a once in a lifetime adventure, Noelle. Truly memorable. The other passenger was a very big man… very big. I was a little worried when he got in and the helicoptor seemed to sink down a little. before we set off. But he was very jolly and all was well. He didn’t stay out long when we on top of the mountain though, preferring to see everything from inside the helicoptor. Actually he was a bit green when we finally landed back near the village – we didn’t see him again.

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      • We did a helicopter trip in Hawaii. My husband has a profound distrust of helicopters having had to travel in them to pick up patients in Chicago and being buffeted by strong winds. Right after he swallowed his misgiving in Hawaii, a helicopter there went down over the lava eruptions on the big island!

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  11. Pingback: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Blogger Weekly February 10th 2024 – #ThursdayDoors Dan Antion and Darlene Foster, #Quilts Joy Neal Kidney, #Leonberger Thomas Wikman, #Reviews Miriam Hurdle, #Funnies Story Reading Ape, #MountCook Judith Barrow | Sm

  13. Hi Judith, what a fabulous experience. I’ve only been in a helicopter once and that was in the Drakensberg in South Africa. it was terrific. The down side was it was during covid and there were two other passengers. I was terrified of contracting covid so couldn’t relax. I must say your pictures are gorgeous.

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