The Lake Tekapo Airport was built here in 1974 by Air Safaris. This is the main base for the company and the departure point for all our east coast customers.

Lake Tekapo covers the first part of your Air Safaris Grand Traverse. Glaciers grinding against rock produce a fine powder called “rock flour”. When washed into the lake this is what produces the stunning turquoise colour. Lake Tekapo is 120m deep and has an average temperature of 7 degrees C. In the summer months it is popular for boating, water sports and trout and salmon fishing.

Nestled around the southern shoreline of Lake Tekapo, the village is home to approximately 350 permanent residents. The Village itself is built on old glacial terminal moraine and is surrounded by unique glacial features which become obvious from the air.

Dominating the skyline to the west of Lake Tekapo is Mt John – a classic example of a Roche Moutonnée (harder bed-rock sculptured by advancing glacial ice). Mt John is home to the Mt John Observatory housing New Zealand’s biggest telescope (1.8 meter MOA). Built in the 1960’s the observatory is now mainly used for research purposes by the Canterbury University.

Mount Hay Station is a 10,500ha South Island sheep farm on the edge of Lake Tekapo right next to the Round Hill Ski area.

Mt Hay Station runs 5,000 merino because they’re the only stock sturdy enough to survive the hard country.

Mt Ardmore is one of our alpine landing sites on the eastern side of Lake Tekapo, a remote mountain with amazing views right over Lake Tekapo. (This is very popular with our wedding and engagement photography packages).

Mt Dobson Ski Area is located in the Two Thumb mountain range east of Lake Tekapo village. It’s a perfect for all abilities with all day sun and a range of trails and lifts. The winter ski season runs from late June to early October.

Roundhill Ski Area is located 35 minutes from Lake Takapo Village. This family friendly Ski Area has panoramic views of Lake Tekapo and trails to suit all levels of ability.

This high country sheep station is 50 000 acres in size. They farm approximately 10,000 Merino sheep. They Graze high on the mountains during summer and are mustered on foot by shepherds and their dogs to the lower country for the winter months, to protect from the deep winter snows. 

Glenmore Station occupies 19,000-odd hectares, rising from the western shore of Lake Tekapo to the border of the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. An award-winning merino property (with deer and beef), it has its feet in the water and its head in the snowy peaks.

Famous for Rainbow and Brown trout fishing, this springfed lake provides a striking contrast to the turquoise-blue glacial water of Lake Tekapo. The lake is one of New Zealand’s Scenic Reserves with over 40 species of bird within it’s biologically rich catchment. 

Mt Joseph is another of or landing sites, in the winter we are able to offer snow landings on here and in the summer alpine landings, this has a great view down over the Mackenzie Basin.

The Cass Valley lies to the west of Lake Tekapo between the Liebig and Hazsard Ranges. It’s a popular area for hiking and 4wd in summer and ski touring in the winter. The Cass River was named after Thomas Cass, the chief surveyor in Canterbury between 1851 and 1867.

The Jollie River is a river of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. It flows an almost straight course from its source in the Liebig Range 15 kilometres (9 mi) east of Aoraki/Mount Cook, flowing into the Tasman River 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the latter’s outflow into Lake Pukaki.

The icebergs, which are clearly visible from the air, have taken about 500 years to travel from the Neve at the top of the Tasman Glacier to where they appear today. Underneath this lake the ice is still over 200 meters thick. 

Under the highest mountain in New Zealand, the Aoraki/Mount Cook alpine village sits amongst sky-scraping peaks, phenomenal glaciers, permanent snow and all beneath a stunning star-studded sky.

The village itself provides a range of accommodation from an international style hotel to motels, backpackers and camping.

Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park surrounds the village, which is in excess of 700km with glaciers covering 40% of the land.

16 kilometers long, the Murchison is New Zealand’s second longest glacier. Flowing in parallel valleys, the Tasman and Murchison Glaciers are separated by the Malte Brun range, dominated by Mt Malte Brun at 10,400′ (3,170m).

Liebig Dome is one of our snow landing sites nestled right up in amongst the Southern Alps of New Zealand, sitting at almost 8000 feet high and with its backdrop being Aoraki Mt Cook, this makes this mountain a very popular landing site.

29 kilometres long with ice up to 800m deep, The Tasman is easily New Zealand’s longest glacier. Moraine (rock and gravel scraped or fallen from the valley walls) covers the ice for much of its length. At it’s terminus a glacial lake 150m deep and lined with ice, feeding into the huge braided Tasman River and then into Lake Pukaki.

Known as a classic ice-climb, Mt Tasman is New Zealand’s second highest mountain. It was first climbed in January 1895 by Mathias Zurbriggen. The Balfour icefall and glacier descends off its western flanks. 

‘Aoraki’ – the cloud-piercer! New Zealand’s highest mountain stands supreme with its snow and ice-fields spilling into the glaciers below. It was first climbed on Christmas Day 1894 by locals Tom Fyfe, George Graham and 19 year old Jack Clarke. In 1991 a giant rock avalanche occurred on Mt Cook lowering the highest peak by 20m. An estimated 14 million cubic meters of rock and debris, travelled 7.3km from its source at an approximate speed of 400-600 km/hr.

Nestled in the Westland National Park you will find the Franz Josef Glacier. At the head of the glacier is the beatiful Geike snowfield, famous for high altitude cross country skiing. Plummeting steeply westward, this magnificent ‘river of ice’ descends almost to the Tasman sea at a recorded rate of up to 4 meters per day.  

The Maori name for the Fox Glacier is “Te Moeka o Tuawe” this was derived from the ancestor Tu Awe who fell to his death while exploring the area. The bed of the glacier was his finial resting place and it is said that when his lover, Hine Hukatere wept, the bed of the Fox and Franz glaciers filled with her everlasting tears of ice.