NEW ZEALAND
helicopter tours company that offers some extraordinary experiences, such as viewing Milford Sound from the air or, in my case, landing on top of a mountain with a golf club and driving eco balls over the edge (from NZ$325). There’s even a par-three hole up there and rumours that a hole-in-one million dollar prize is being put together.
Afterwards, Choppy wasn’t content to simply drop us back at base. Instead, she flew low and fast across The Hills golf course and its large collection of animal sculptures before landing by the clubhouse for a quick hot chocolate. Choppy parks the helicopter as if she’s parking the car at Sainsburys. A level of confidence that serves, in the words of NZ prime minister John Key, to “put nervous flyers among us at ease.” She even has a unique bottle of whisky hidden on a
mountaintop somewhere reserved for British guests – tell your clients to ask her about it if they join her for an adventure and they might get a swig of a meticulous recreation of the original malt whisky shipped to Antarctica in 1907 by the explorer Ernest Shackleton to fortify his Nimrod expedition.
The only downside to spending a couple of hours with Choppy was that all else paled in comparison. When placed in the cockpit of a bright yellow Lamborghini Murcielago later that day, the experience felt a little flat (
freemanX.com); how’s that for a spoilt brat? So advise your clients to split the two adrenaline thrills up, as on any other day the glorious roads of South Island and a car that goes from 0 to 60 in less than four seconds would be the bum-tingling highlight.
AZUR LODGE QUEENSTOWN, SOUTH ISLAND
If it costs £25 for a View from the Shard ticket in London, to sit in one of the baths
at Azur should be about the price of a small car. After half an hour’s soaking, I got out begrudgingly and was drying myself before realising I’d forgotten to wash. Each of the nine 75-square-metre
freestanding hillside villas offers views of Lake Wakatipu and the remarkable The Remarkables. The glass-fronted villas all face the only direction anyone wants
to look, so whether you’re in bed, by the fireside sofa or doing a headstand by the coffee machine, that view is a constant. The main building – small and informal,
despite its name – houses the lobby, kitchen, dining room, guest lodge and a dog called Elvis. In fact, it’s so informal that they let us order a Fergburger from Queenstown – just a couple of miles away – and chomp it at the dining table. If you’ve had one of these rather famous burgers you’ll know eating one is not a graceful or spill-free activity.
Rooms cost from NZ$1,650 (£833) including tax in the summer months
AZUR.CO.NZ
aspire september 2014 — 69
PICTURE: FRASER CLEMENTS
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