After eagerly arriving at Fox Glacier – one of two popular glaciers on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island – we were disappointed to hear that you could no longer hike to the glacial face. What to do… what to do? Heli-tour, of course!

• • Being the first time any of us had actually been in a helicopter, we were all a little nervous – but excited. Our daughter got prime position, right next to the pilot – lucky duck, with me next to her and hubby in the back. Our chosen heli package included around 10mins of flight time and a special landing at the very top of the glacier in the soft pow pow, where we were allowed to explore for another 10mins or so.

    The weather was absolutely perfect, not a cloud in the sky. Seeing the glacier from this kind of perspective was facinating, if a little bit sad. The pilot explained just how far the glacier had receded over previous years and my hubby later confirmed, having previously visited the spot a few years earlier – lets just say, it’s a lot!

    Landing in the snow was an experience in itself, weird having never flown in anything other than a plane, but very pleasant – soft almost. The snow up there was crystal white and sooo bright. It was the first time we had all seen ‘real’ snow on the trip. It was pointed out to my hubby, by our daughter, that this spot would’ve been a great place to propose had he not already done it a few nights earlier and while she wasn’t wrong, I wouldn’t have had it any other way!