Fiordland Helicopters

Fiordland Helicopters are one of the leading operators that provider sightseeing tours through the Fiordland National Park, the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km².

During the cooler past, glaciers carved many deep fiords, the most famous (and most visited) of which is Milford Sound. Other notable fiords include Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound.

In December I was fortunate enough to be in Invercargill for Christmas at the Races. The return flight back to Wellington wasn’t till the following afternoon, so I decided to head up to Te Anau to get up close and personal with Fiordland.

While Milford is the most famous, Doubtful & Dusky are actually bigger & longer – these are the two we flew over on a 2hr sightseeing tour. I’ve seen some pretty amazing things in my time as a photographer, but this was simply spectacular! The sheer size is amazing on it’s own! However the isolation when you land on top of a fiord looking out towards the west coast of New Zealand knowing that you are one of the few people who will ever see this sight, and one of the even fewer who is there right now is amazing.

As well as these photos, I also put together this short video of the trip – all shot on my iPhone 6+ and edited on the flight back to Wellington.