A Case of Beer for a Helicopter Ride

Today, Colin and I had the amazing opportunity to trade a case of beer for a helicopter ride.

We have been staying at The Rainforest Retreat hostel and guesthouse at Franz Josef Glacier. We have been doing a number of jobs here in exchange for accommodation...but that's another story.

One of the major activities in the area is touring one of the two glaciers (Fox Glacier or Franz Josef glacier). The catch is that in order to actually get to the glacier you need to fly in....at anywhere from $200 - $300 per person. 

There's no way that we would be paying anything like that, so it wasn't really a consideration for us. That is until we heard a rumor about one of the helicopter companies that would trade an empty seat in one of their pre scheduled flights for a case of beer. We went to the place during our lunch break today to see if this was true, and next thing we knew we were on a helicopter, taking off for Franz Josef Glacier.

It was the first helicopter ride either Colin or I have ever experienced. So. Much. Fun!  We got to the glacier and had a few minutes to look around and take some pictures. 

If you have every seen the The Two Towers (the 2nd movie of The Lord of the Rings), then you have seen these mountains before. The scene of the lighting of the citadels was filmed here. 

We got back to the base, headed across the street to pick up and deliver a couple cases of beer, and headed back to work. Not a bad lunch break, if you ask me.