The more we travelled around New Zealand the more excited we were about trying new things. This time we decided to go on a scenic trip above Wanaka in a helicopter, a so-called “heli-flight.”
A helicopter looks like a big toy. It’s delicate and powerful at the same time. It looks light but it weights few hundred kilograms and can carry a few people (the one we flew in had capacity for four persons). Inside the cockpit there is not too much space but because there are windows all around you feel as if you’re sitting in the open air. What I was mostly surprised about was the fact that the helicopter we boarded had only two blades! I thought it needs at least three or four to be able to fly.
It may seem quite easy to fly a heli as all you use to pilot it is a small joystick. Yet when we asked our pilot, Pete Smalley, how long it takes to learn to fly he explained that it takes around 20 hours just to learn how to lift the machine from the ground. Then it takes 20-30 more to practice how to actually fly it. For a quick comparison, you need only 20 hours on a motorcycle and 30 hours with a car to be able to take the national driving license tests in Poland.
I was really amazed to learn what this machine can do. First of all it starts and lands vertically so you don’t need any airport runway or any vast piece of ground. It’s enough to have 2-3 square meters to take off and safely sit on the ground. And as far as flying is concerned a helicopter can suspend in the air without moving, turn left, right or around without changing the altitude, and also fly vertically with its nose down. YouTube has many films with extreme heli flights so take a look! We have not done any of the acrobatic elements as it was a one hour touristic trip so safety first! During the flight we had a landing on the top of the Roys Peak from where we had the most beautiful views. It was 360 degrees panoramic scenery straight from the Lord of the Rings.
Wanaka welcomed us with one more surprise. When we stopped in Aspiring Lodge Motel to ask for a low-budget backpackers accommodation we met the owners who turned out to be from Poland. So that’s how we got to know Ela and Zbigniew, a very friendly couple who left Poland more than 30 years ago to live in Australia and now New Zealand. We enjoyed our time talking about travels and life accompanied by barszcz the traditional Polish soup, which Łukasz prepared as a treat for dinner. Smacznego!
