Scenic Flights in Wanaka

Wanaka scenic flights put you over Lake Wanaka, Mount Aspiring National Park and the glaciers of the Southern Alps by helicopter, light plane, paraglider or parachute. They are sightseeing and adventure flights rather than scheduled services, and most leave from Wanaka Airport, a short hop from the rest of the things to do in Wanaka.

Helicopter flights from Wanaka Airport

Helicopter flights from Wanaka range from a 25-minute hop over Lake Wanaka and the ridgeline of Roy Peak to a 75-minute flight with two alpine landings, past frozen waterfalls, glaciers and crevasses. Choosing a flight is mostly about the number of landings and the time in the air. Mount Aspiring, known in te reo Māori as Tititea, rises to 3,033 metres, and most of the longer flights are built around it.

A 45-minute helicopter flight with two alpine landings follows the Matukituki River valley into Mount Aspiring National Park. The 1-hour Mt Aspiring flight with an alpine landing touches down at Albert Burn Saddle or on a nearby glacier. A different operator, Aspiring Helicopters, flies a 35-minute scenic flight with a glacier landing from Cattle Flat Station on the Mount Aspiring Road, Monday to Saturday at 11am or 2pm.

Helicopter, jet boat and hiking days from Makarora

Backcountry Helicopters flies from Makarora, a 50-minute drive up the Haast Pass highway from Wanaka, into the Siberia Valley and the Top Forks area near Mt Pollux. Most trips pair the helicopter with a jet boat ride across two rivers. The helicopter flight and jet boat adventure is the shortest, a 15-minute flight and a 30-minute boat ride, a 1-hour trip in all.

For a longer day, the helicopter, hike and jet boat adventure adds a landing and a 3-hour self-guided alpine walk into a 5-hour trip. In winter, the Pisa Range snowshoe trek with a helicopter flight is a 25-minute flight followed by a 4-kilometre snowshoe walk to a private alpine hut for a picnic platter and mulled wine.

Scenic plane flights to Mt Cook and Milford Sound

Scenic flights from Wanaka by plane cover longer distances. The Mt Cook scenic flight departs at 11am and flies over the Fox, Franz and Tasman glaciers, with a window seat on every flight. The Milford Sound flight and cruise has a 45-minute flight each way over Mount Aspiring, the glaciers, the Milford Track and Sutherland Falls, with a 2-hour cruise on the sound in between.

A third option lands in the wilderness. The scenic flight with a Siberia Valley walk and jet boat ride runs from 1 October to 20 April as a 4-hour trip, with a 25-minute flight, a 3-hour unguided walk through beech forest and a 30-minute jet boat ride.

Skydiving and paragliding over Lake Wanaka

Tandem skydiving in Wanaka drops from 9,000, 12,000 or 15,000 feet, and the 15,000ft tandem skydive brings the longest freefall, up to a full minute. Tandem paragliding is the gentler way up: the Treble Cone paraglide launches at 3,600 feet for a 10 to 15-minute flight over Lake Wanaka and the Twin Falls. From the Queenstown side, Skytrek also flies tandem paragliding and hang gliding off Coronet Peak, with a shuttle from central Queenstown.

Choosing a flight and planning around the weather

Length and landings are the choices that matter. A 25-minute flight shows the lake and the ridgelines, an hour or more reaches the glaciers, and the combinations with a jet boat or a hike turn a flight into half a day.

Every flight here depends on the weather. A cancelled Mt Cook flight can be rebooked, and the operator of the Milford Sound trip suggests the 9.00am flight for the best conditions and fewer visitors in the sound, so booking flights early in a stay leaves room to move them.

Frequently asked questions

Where do helicopter flights from Wanaka leave from?

Most helicopter flights from Wanaka leave from Wanaka Airport on Lloyd Dunn Avenue. Backcountry Helicopters flies from Makarora, a 50-minute drive from Wanaka, and Aspiring Helicopters leaves from Cattle Flat Station on the Mount Aspiring Road.

How long are helicopter flights from Wanaka?

Helicopter flights from Wanaka run from a 25-minute flight with one alpine landing to a 75-minute flight with two alpine landings over Mount Aspiring National Park. The flights in between add time in the air, a second landing or a glacier.

Can you land on a glacier on a Wanaka helicopter flight?

Several Wanaka helicopter flights include alpine landings, and Aspiring Helicopters' 35-minute scenic flight lands on a glacier in Mount Aspiring National Park. Other flights land on snow, on a saddle or near the Mt Pollux Glacier.

Can you fly from Wanaka to Milford Sound?

A scenic flight and cruise from Wanaka to Milford Sound is available as a day trip. It includes a 45-minute flight each way and a 2-hour cruise with Mitre Peak Cruises on the sound, returning over the Milford Track and Sutherland Falls.

What happens to a Wanaka scenic flight in bad weather?

A Wanaka scenic flight can be moved or cancelled when the weather is poor. If a Mt Cook scenic flight is cancelled for poor weather, passengers can rebook, and heli-skiing, hang gliding and jet boating run to the weather too.

Check the departure point, then book your Wanaka scenic flight online with Experience Oz.