Freedom to Roam: The Southern Alps by helicopter

Filed under: Hiking, History, Skiing, Stories, Oceania, New Zealand, Transportation, Luxury Travel

No, the Southern Alps aren't in the south of France or Italy as the name may lead you to believe. Rather, they are 12 time zones away in a remote corner of the Pacific Ocean and form the spine of the rugged South Island of New Zealand. Home to National Parks such as Mt. Aspiring, Mt. Cook, Arthur's Pass, and Fiordland, the similarities to their European counterparts are so similar, however, that when hiking amongst sections of the Southern Alps you could swear you were outside of Chamonix, France.

It's well known that the original Maori name for New Zealand is "Aotearoa", a phrase which literally translates to "Long White Cloud". Seeing as the Polynesian triangle only has a few mountains tall enough to ever receive snow, it's understandable why a narrow, snow capped mountain range could be construed as being a long white cloud. (The only other mountain in Polynesia outside of New Zealand which regularly sees snow is Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, a name which literally translates in Hawaiian to "White Mountain". See a trend?)

Aside from providing a picturesque backdrop for the majority of the South Island, the Southern Alps are also home to the majority of the outdoor activities in the country, which is really saying something in an outdoor haven such as New Zealand.

When it comes to the Southern Alps, even though you can hike your way through them, ski your way down them, jetboat their rivers, and fish in their lakes, the undisputed best way you're going to actually SEE them is by getting up on top of them. Unless you plan on climbing 12,316 ft. Mt. Cook (Maori: Aoraki, "Cloud Piercer") and are a whiz with crampons and an ice axe, your best bet is to get beneath a set of rotating blades and take a helicopter to plop you down on top of them.

That's what I did over Mt. Aspiring, and in all seriousness, it was one of the best things I've ever done.