The Remarkables rise 2,300 metres vertically from Lake Wakatipu in a single unbroken sweep, their eastern escarpment dropping 1,200 metres in under half a kilometre—one of the steepest sustained gradients in the Southern Alps.
The range earned its colonial English name in the 1850s when surveyor Alexander Garvie sketched the sawtooth ridgeline from Queenstown, though the Māori name Kawarau describes the turbulent river system that drains the range's western flanks. What makes remarkables helicopter flight queenstown operators unique is the proximity: flights depart from Frankton, less than six kilometres from the ridgeline, reaching alpine landing zones in under eight minutes.
The range consists of eight named summits, all carved from Otago schist—metamorphic rock compressed 150 million years ago and thrust skyward during the Kaikoura Orogeny. Double Cone, the highest peak at 2,319 metres, anchors the northern end; Single Cone closes the southern terminus. Between them lie cirques, hanging valleys, and seasonal snowfields that persist through January in sheltered basins. The ski field on the eastern face, opened in 1985, clings to slopes between 1,600 and 1,943 metres, its access road climbing 14 kilometres through tussock and schist outcrops. Helicopter tours bypass the road entirely, landing passengers at elevations the ski lifts cannot reach.
Commercial helicopter flights over the Remarkables began in the late 1980s, initially servicing heli-ski operations. By the mid-1990s, scenic tours with alpine landings became the primary revenue stream. Today's queenstown helicopter tours follow flight corridors approved by the Civil Aviation Authority, with designated landing sites on Department of Conservation land under concession. Most routes track the western ridgeline before crossing onto the glacial benches near Lake Alta or Shadow Basin, elevations where tussock gives way to alpine herb fields and frost-shattered rock. Pilots calibrate altitude for density altitude—thin air at 2,000 metres reduces rotor efficiency by 18 percent compared to sea level.
The light changes hourly. Morning flights between eight and ten capture the eastern face in direct sun, illuminating the schist's russet and ochre bands. Afternoon westerlies bring turbulence but also lenticular clouds that stack above the peaks in thin, horizontal lenses. Sunset flights, available November through March, time the descent to coincide with alpenglow—the phenomenon where high-altitude snow reflects red wavelengths after the valleys fall into shadow. The helicopters themselves are typically five-seat Eurocopter AS350 B2 Squirrels or seven-seat Bell 407s, both models certified for high-altitude mountain operations and fitted with enlarged windows for unobstructed sightlines.
20 min
