Mt Cook Small Group Tour & Heli Hike Combo from Queenstown
Description
While the destinations you will be visiting are truly spectacular, we at Cheeky Kiwi Travel believe it is our small groups, our guides, the journey and the little details that set our tours well apart. Secret stops, wildlife viewings, specially designed vehicles, complementary refreshments and many other pleasant surprises ensure our tours are an experience to remember. Mt Cook Bus Tour & Heli Hike Combo, this small group, fully-guided day trip from Queenstown combines all of the key highlights of Mt Cook with a guided bus tour before an incredible Heli Hike on Tasman Glacier including two scenic helicopter flights. Our airline partner will provide you with all the necessary equipment such as leather boots, socks, gaiters, crampons/snowshoes, walking poles, waterproof jacket, & over trousers (itis not recommended to wear jeans) Led by our famously passionate tour guides, notorious for bringing your journey to life by sharing their stories and rich background knowledge!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your tour starts in the stunning city of Queenstown. As we drive out of the city your guide will not only set the scene for your adventurous day but also point out and guide you past some of the area’s top highlights.
Departing Queenstown we then make our way through the Kawarau Gorge, passing stunning views, the Kawarau Suspension Bridge and the famous Roaring Meg Lookout. Time and light permitting we will stop for that first great shot of the tour.
Exiting the Kawarau Gorge we enter the fruit and wine growing region of Cromwell. Passing huge fields of vines, we cross Lake Dunstan and follow this beautiful lake towards Lindis Pass.
Climbing in altitude, Lindis Pass has amazing views down through the valleys. Being one of only three alpine roads through the otherwise impassable Southern Alps, we stop at the famous lookout at the top of the pass for an essential photo.
While driving through the endless plains of the Mackenzie district we will spot several of the famous Merino breed of sheep before stopping at the quaint township of Omarama. While in Omarama we have time for a break or even to try the best creamy chicken pie in NZ (in our opinion)!
Turning west we begin to enter the Aoraki National Park and Lake Pukaki begins to emerge in front of us. Lake Pukaki is one of the bluest lakes you will ever see and is stunningly framed by the backdrop of Aoraki/Mt Cook and the Southern Alps. We stop for some amazing photos and to marvel at the sight that we are beholding. It’s not hard to see why many Lord of the Rings scene were filmed nearby and we will point them out for you.
Helihike - check-in and get ready for an adventure of a lifetime with a Tasman Glacier Heli Hike. Your trip with Inflight includes return Scenic flight to & from the Aoraki/Mt. Cook base.
As part of your Helihike you will land on and explore the Tasman Glacier. Combine the excitement of walking on New Zealand’s biggest glacier with the stunning scenic helicopter fly-bys of New Zealand’s largest mountain, Aoraki/Mt Cook. You will fly to your drop off point on a remote part of the glacier before beginning a guided exploration of the amazing ice formations. Follow your guide as they cut steps in the glacier, using skills handed down from NZ’s mountain pioneers.
Farewelling Aoraki/Mt Cook and making our way back to Queenstown we stop in at High Country Salmon, a local salmon farm, where you can feed the fish and taste some of the freshest salmon in New Zealand.
During summer months when the sun is still up and as we get close to Queenstown, we often stop at Jacksons Orchard to try or buy her delicious local fruit or real fruit ice cream.
Sadly the tour must come to an end as we re-enter Queenstown and say our goodbyes.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
*If no pickup is selected at time of booking, you will be allocated our default meeting point. You are welcome to update this at any time. If your location isn’t listed, please choose your nearest available option & meet us there. *Pick-ups can begin up to 20 minutes before the tour departure time, depending on location. To ensure a smooth start, please be ready and waiting outside 5 minute prior to your specific pickup time. *Pick-up locations are carefully planned for each tour and may vary by day. If your pick-up location changes, kindly inform us in advance. *Our guides make multiple stops and may arrive within a 10-minute window. We are unable to wait for late guests.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have a high level of physical fitness
- Heli Hike is subject to availability and require confirmation with our airline partner.
- It is important to note that Heli Hike is very dependent on the weather. The decision to fly is made by our flight partner on the day and may be cancelled last minute due to weather conditions
- Please dress in 3 – 4 layers of warm upper body clothing and no jeans
- Children under 12 years are not permitted for this activity.
- A large amount of hiking is involved. This tour is not suitable for those with walking disabilities
- Passengers 116kg and over will only be able to fly depending on the weights of other passengers on the day, at check-in
Reviews(64)
My first time hiking on the snow mountain, which is really cool! The guide suggested the best time to explore is summer. The tour guide is very friendly and she told us a lot of fun stories on the way.
Sure and Cerry is so talented guide. I have a good time thank you. Beautiful snow view, delicious salmon are hightkight.
An awesome tour with so many cool experiences! The highlight was definitely the heli hike on tasman glacier of Mt Cook. Our guide Lynette was a superstar! So friendly, knowledgeable, lovely and great stories. Would absolutely recommend this tour to anyone who wants to do a bit of everything
Glad to see you had a great day out in the Aoraki National park. If you ever do get the chance to do a combo tour that takes you on to the Tasman glacier, you won't be disappointed. The views from the helicopter or ski plane are amazing! As for Lynette, yes we already know what a superstar she is. Thanks for riding along with us.
Such a wonderful experience. Xavier was our driver and was beyond knowledgeable. It was crazy how much information he provided. Plus he was a very nice guy. We really enjoyed our time both during the transfer and in the glacier. The company that handled the glacier hike was wonderful too. Very professional and nice.
Xavier was an awesome tour guide. The ride and whole experience was very smooth, and the heli hike at Mt Cook was the highlight of our trip. Definitely recommend!
What an experience, the weather was not in our favour in the morning, but the team kept saying let’s be optimistic! Glad we didn’t cancel one of the best things we have ever done! The hiking team were brilliant!!!
It’s a long day trip, but we literally spent most of time in the small Van all day. We originally booked the Combo Heli Hike, unfortunately our helicopter fly had been cancelled due to the weather condition. It’s very disappointing, but we are not complaining about it. The company has refunded the flight, which is good. So we were ending with the Mt Cook tour. However, it only has few short stops on the way to Mt Cook and the tour guider was a bit of unprofessional. Arriving at Mt Cook we didn’t even have enough time to walk the track and had to rush walk back to the Van. This tour starts early and rush to Mt Cook then rush back. It’s not worth it spend a whole day in the Van and the price is the way too high for just taking you to Mt Cook and take you back.
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. Sorry that you didn't get to do our Heli Hike due to weather. We understand the disappointment of missing out on the Combo Heli Hike, but we’re glad the refund process was smooth. We do want to clarify that, while it may have felt rushed, the 3 hours spent at Mount Cook is the recommended time for completing the Hooker Valley Track, which is a highlight of the area. We understand the desire for more time to explore and appreciate the surroundings, and we’ll take your feedback into account as we look at ways to improve the pacing of future tours. Thanks again for your valuable input, and we hope to provide a more enjoyable experience next time!
The heli-hike on Tasman Glacier was excellent beyond imagination. Our highlight was going down into a temporary ice cave
We were so lucky with this tour given the weather it meant we had outstanding views both from the helicopter and the glacier itself. If you can afford the heli-hike and get lucky with the weather it truly is a unique experience. We had a wonderful driver Dan who made sure we got plenty of breaks and stops along the long drive and got us on time to all our experiences! Our helicopter pilot Sam was very attentive and reassuring to nervous flyers and Tori our guide on the glacier was so knowledgeable and friendly. We had a great experience and it was truly worth the money
Amazing experience of this day tour to Mount Cook with a funny and knowledgeable guide (Michel). The guide of the Mount Cook hike (Flavia) was able to offer a high-quality tour of the glacier.
