An activity that should be on every South Island bucket list, taking a Milford Sound Scenic Flight With Glenorchy Air, an experience that will only further your appreciation for the awe-inspiring beauty of New Zealand and its natural wonders. In all seriousness, if you’re budget allows then this is not to be missed. We debated it every time we visited Queenstown but honestly it was time and money well spent and as soon as we can, I will be booking that dreamy sunrise flight over Mt. Aspiring.
New Zealand is beautiful from every angle, the exquisite landscapes with their rugged yet whimsical charm will hopefully have you as swept off your feet as they have me, but taking all that in from the skies is just a whole other ball game. The perspective it gives you, the wild insight into the vast expanse below that has very rightly been dubbed ‘an eighth wonder of the world’ – its just mind-bogglingly beautiful.
Who To Book Your SCENIC Flight With
After checking out the options available we chose to fly with Glenorchy Air. We wanted to support a local business, they always have great deals on, I had heard great things from others internet wide and I had read rave reviews and seen the beautiful photos snapped by Tara over at Silly Little Kiwi so we went with them.
Flying for almost 30 years since 1992, Glenorchy Air was founded by Robert and Janet Rutherford. Back then the now beautiful Queenstown to Glenorchy road was unsealed, making access difficult. Thus, the opportunity arose to commence a scenic flight route. Not surprisingly due to the remoteness of a lot of the South Island, the team played an important role in the Lord of the Rings location scouting and production helping to fly crew and filming equipment around Aotearoa. Fast forward to today and the Glenorchy Air team are now based out of Queenstown Airport with their fleet of five high wing aircraft.
HOW TO BOOK YOUR MILFORD SOUND SCENIC FLIGHT
We simply booked online via the website which is super easy to do here. Alternatively, if you would rather discuss details or book over the phone then you can email: info@glenorchyair.co.nz or call 0800 676 264.
MILFORD SOUND Scenic Flight – what to expect
Pick your SCENIC flight
First things first, you need to decide on which scenic flight you want to take. In our case, we opted for the Milford Sound Scenic Flyover, but do check out the options for Milford Sound | Piopiotahi on the website as they vary according to preference, there’s an Overnight, Fly Cruise Fly or Coach Cruise Fly, so there’s plenty of choice. Alternatively, they also offer scenic flights over Mt. Cook | Aoraki where you can even ski the Tasman if you fancy. Check out Earnslaw Burn and the Glaciers, admire the sunrise over Mt Aspiring or pop over to Stewart Island | Rakiura.
SCENIC FLIGHT DEPARTURE info
All flights depart from Queenstown Airport and the Glenorchy Air desk is located inside the main terminal building of Queenstown Airport, directly across from Avis and baggage claim. Glenorchy Air offer complimentary pick ups and drop offs within Central Queenstown, so we just picked our accommodation from the list at the time of booking, which was great as it meant we didn’t have to pay for parking at the airport. The weather conditions and flight status are updated about an hour before the flight time and we were deemed good to go. We checked in for our flight, were joined by one other couple (please note we took this flight when the International boarders were closed due to COVID19) and then we were introduced to our pilot Jackson.
THE AIR-CRAFT
In terms of the aircraft, Glenorchy Air are authorised by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). They have a carefully selected fleet of aircraft that are built for the sole purpose of sightseeing and scenic flights. All of the high-wing planes have guaranteed window seats, making sure that everyone has the best possible views and opportunities to take photos of the genuinely spectacular scenery. Jackson the pilot allocated our seats based on weight and balance of the plane and trust me wherever you sit – you will not be disappointed.
THE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE
With regards to the flight, the Milford Sound Scenic Flyover is an approx. 1h20 trip. And what a breathtaking way to spend an hour and twenty minutes! Depending on the weather conditions Glenorchy Air fly at an altitude anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. From epic views over Queenstown’s Lake Wakatipu, Ice Plateaus, Glacier Lakes and the unique wilderness of the West Coast to magnificent views of Sutherland falls. It was just the most magical experience and I could not recommend it more.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Now I am by no means an expert, but I found reading this post on Scenic Flight Photography Tips before our flight super helpful, the main points I took away from it, were to:
| Wear all black to avoid reflections – there’s a LOT of glass on the plane.
| Remove your camera strap – then it won’t get tangled up in your seat belt / headset and again it won’t get caught in the reflections on the window.
| Use a high shutter speed and balance your ISO and F-Stop accordingly – there’s no one size fits all method.
| Record bits of video too, honestly soaring above the Southern Alps – you’ll want those clips immortalised on your memory card.
WHERE TO STAY:
I always bang on about using booking.com and for good reason. There are so many perks, from becoming a Genius member, to discount deals – you can’t really go wrong. Just bear in mind what you are looking for and filter that search down to the small print. For instance, when travelling in S E Asia or European Summetime we always filter for ratings 8+, Wifi and air conditioning.
I’ve popped some recommendations below that hopefully cater to your budget option, whether that be a sod it, it’s pay day let’s splash all the cash or an, I need a comfy bed to fall into asap kinda trip.
SPLURGE OPTIONs:
As the scenic flights take off from Queenstown it’s probably best to stay in town and you’re in for a treat as there are so many gorgeous hotels to stay at in Queenstown. You really are spoilt for choice but here are three firm favourites:
The Dairy Private Hotel by Naumi Hotels
Kamana Lakehouse
QT Queenstown
A SLIGHTLY KINDER TO THE BANK BALANCE OPTION:
LQ Queenstown
Sherwood Queenstown
A BUDGET FRIENDLY OPTION:
Mi-pad Smart Hotel
YHA Queenstown Lakefront
So that’s all I have to tell you about the Milford Sound Scenic Flight with Glenorchy Air, if you want to read more New Zealand content then check out my post about Queenstown & Wanaka’s Best Wineries or perhaps you’re looking at booking a stay amongst the vines at Kinross.
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