As soon as I heard it was possible to fly around Mt Cook on a Ski Plane and land on the Tasman glacier, New Zealand’s largest glacier, I called the airline and booked my seat! I didn’t even know a Ski Plane existed and apparently Mt. Cook is the only place in the Southern Emisphere where you can have this experience!
If you know me and read my blog, you know my passion for flying on any different type of plane. I flew on a seaplane in Copenhagen, an helicopter in the Faroe Islands, a microlight in Cambodia, flew upside down in Airlie Beach, did hang gliding in Byron Bay and paragliding in North Macedonia.
Now I’m over excited for this Mt Cook Ski Plane adventure and experience a glacier landing!
How to book Mt Cook Ski Plane?
Check out Mt Cook Ski Planes, the airline that organizes the flights. You can call to ask more info but I suggest you to book through an external reseller. You can usually find better deals. I booked my ticket on Book.me and I paid almost 40% less!
You can choose to have one way on the skiplane and the return on a helicopter. If you have never flown on a helicopter before, do it! But as I had done that already, I chose the skiplane both ways! I wanted to experience the real drill of landing and taking off from the snow!
Mt Cook Ski Plane: landing on a glacier
The meeting point is Mt Cook airport, half an hour before the flight.
Tip: Be there earlier, smile and flirt a bit with the lady at the counter to secure yourself a seat in the front, next to the pilot. You’ll get an amazing view and see all the manoeuvres he does.
Time to take off!!!
We are taking off from the airport on this tiny little plane! We fly towards the giant Mt Cook, covered by snow! The view of snow-capped mountains and blue lakes is breath-taking!
We are flying so close to the mountains that I feel I can almost touch the snow! After 15 mins we are on a large plain area covered by snow. That’s the Tasman Glacier, the largest glacier in New Zealand. And that’s where we are gonna land.
Yeah, I can’t believe we are actually landing on the snow on a Glacier!
A Ski Plane has some specific feature to land on the snow. Check out the next video to get a closer look at the aircraft.
I had never been before on a Glacier, so another cool experience off the bucket list! We spent about 15 mins on the mountain before getting back on the plane!
Now we are taking off from the snow! Still insane, looking around from the window in the middle of a mountain, in this tiny airplane! The way back is as good as the first flight and 15 mins later we land at Mt Cook Airport! What an insane experience!
Best adventure activities in New Zealand
Flying on a skiplane and landing on the Tasman Glacier definitely belongs to the top 3 adventure activities to do in New Zealand! Together with it, there other 2 unmissable experiences you need to do whilst travelling there:
What else to do around Mt Cook?
Mt Cook is my favourite place in the entire country! You should spend at least 3-4 days there and enjoy the nature and the landscapes! I recommend you to stay at YHA hostel Mt Cook and do some hiking trips to Mt Cook.
If you have a car you should also take a day trip around the lakes. Lake Pukaki first and then drive to Lake Tekapo for some unmissable views!
Lake Tekapo 
Lake Pukaki
After the few days around Mt. Cook it is time to head on to the next destination in the South Island! Check this article for itinerary and advices for a month long road trip in New Zealand!
Don’t forget to share the article and leave a comment if you enjoyed reading it!
0 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks