From snowy mountains to icy lakes

We hopped over to the other side of the Alps, to catch a glimpse of New Zealand's highest peak: Mount Cook. Med's parents had a surprise in store for us - we would be flying over the summit in an helicopter!
As we approached, the faint, white peaks of Mount Cook (3,754m) and Mount Tasman (3,497m) popped into view in the distance. We skirted Lake Pukaki, a brilliantly blue lake at the foot of the mountain range and crept closer to the snow-capped wonders.

We watched as the propellers of our helicopter swung into motion and we were ushered towards the noise and chopping blades. The noise was deafening, just as I had imagined, so we quickly piled inside and grabbed our headphones to block out the din.

Soon, we were hovering above the ground, levitating in a smooth motion towards the mountain range. We had impressive views of the mountains on one side, and the flat plains below, leading to Pukaki lake.

We rose steadily into the embrace of the mountains, surrounded on all sides by thick, crevassed snow and sharp, rugged peaks. Below our feet, we could see Lake Tasman with mammoth chunks of ice that had once belonged to the Tasman glacier. The lake is 727m deep, so that's some icefall.

We continued to fly-by the glacial icefalls and snow crevasses, all the while enjoying simultaneous mountain and lake valley views. We landed at a snowy spot at the top of the Franz Josef glacier with the Fox Glacier on our left. Far down below we could see where we had stood the day before, peering up at this glacial beast.

After an impromptu snowball fight and a final gawk at the spectacular views, we took to the skies once more, and this time Audrey and I were in the front seats.

The ride back included even more impressive views of the frozen glaciers, bright blue lakes and the flat, mild plains below. We even did a 360 of the Fox Glacier.

I can’t imagine anything surpassing the thrill of zooming past the craggy glacial peaks, getting as close a look at the mammoth ice flow as any human can. We were on a high long after our feet touched the ground.

We then went for a cooling dip in the iridescent Lake Pukaki. The glacial feed to the lakes in this area gives them a distinctive, milky blue colour, created by glacial flour - the extremely finely ground rock particles from the glaciers.

We rounded off an incredible day in a cottage near Twizel, with nothing but farmland and mountains as far as the eye could see.

The next few days we stopped in the small town of Te Anau, a gateway to the mighty Milford Sound. With up to 9 metres of rain annually and around 200 days of rainfall a year, to have a sunny day in Milford sound is very rare and you are a very lucky tourist if you happen to be there on such a day. We were the lucky tourists that day as the skies were blue and the air was balmy.

But it didn't start that way. We woke to thick, grey cloud and the mountains that surrounded us were mostly invisible on our journey towards Milford. Wisps of fog swirled all around us and we had little hope of it clearing.

We drove through the Homer Tunnel, a 13km mountain road tunnel of exposed rock and minimal light. At the other side it was still mist, murk and lost mountains. Yet, the cloud cover thinned as we reached our destination and Milford Sound came into sharp focus.

Out of the fog came a parade of chiseled rock faces that plummeted into aquamarine water; waterfalls of every shape and size from long thin to thundering sheets; and steep cliffs where moss and evergreens cling to soil-less surfaces. As we boarded our boat, we could already sea the snow-capped peaks in the distance and the reflection in the water that has made Milford Sound famous around the world.

The sky was blue above us and, all of a sudden, that misty haze that had so bothered us 30 minutes before was a bonus, lingering in the background. adding mystery to the countless lumbering headlands that lay sleeping around the fjord. Because it is a fjord, not a sound - an early mistake that stuck. It's also named after Milford Haven, but the similarities with the Welsh town it's named after end there.

Milford Sound is beautiful. We sailed through towards the sea, spotting seal colonies playing on the rocks and waterfalls as tall as 50 storey buildings. The rocks hold precious gems and gold, but the natural wonder of the sound has proved more precious to New Zealand so it has been left, untouched. We could see signs of the treasures the rock holds, with patches of jade green and copper gold visible from the boat.

The waterfalls weren't in their full glory due to the unusual lack of rain in the past week, but we still got drenched as the boat hovered close to the edge. The clouds rolled in once more as we arrived back at the small harbour, the curtains closing on the breathtaking performance we had just enjoyed.

We headed for classic, Kiwi 'fush 'n' chups' to celebrate another good day.

The next day we headed south to Queenstown, where we stayed in a lovely hotel with views of the town's iconic lake, alpine forest and mountains. We tucked into our first Fergburger, an infamous, delicious burger served up in the adventure capital of the south island. It didn't disappoint!

Before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to Audrey and Julian. We couldn't thank them enough for our week full of treats and unforgettable adventures.