Where on Wednesday thirty two: Above the mountains - Photos and video
[Image has been removed]
Yep that's me, on the right, my wife Faith on the left and yes, that's a helicopter behind us on the snow. That's where I'd rather be right now...Not in my office which is, in fact, where I actually am at the moment.
This was taken a few months ago when we did a helicopter flight up onto the mountains and down into Mt Earnslaw Burn in New Zealand. We took my mother in law who had only just survived cancer - She wanted to live a little. I don't blame her.
You can see the mountains below and the Burn also; A huge valley gouged out by a glacier many millions of years ago. These were taken from the helo.
We flew to the top of a mountain nearby, landed on the snow for a bit of an explore and a view over Queenstown and then flew over to Mt Earnslaw and landed down on the ground inside the Burn to see what we could see, and soak up the absolute beauty, peace and quiet...It was amazing.
The helicopter flight started back at Queenstown airport and we had it charted for 90 minutes so had a nice amount of flying time and time in Mt Earnslaw Burn as well.
Here is the helo landed on the top of the mountain. This spot ovelooked the valley leading back down to Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu so the view was quite stunning. The real hero of the flight was Mt Earnslaw though and the glacier-carved valley below it. Here you can see Faith exiting the helo...It would have been cooler to fast-rope down from the hovering aircraft but we weren't allowed. Damned insurance liability!
Once landed the pilot melted away and we were left to simply take in the surroundings. It was quiet, comfortably cool and smelled very fresh indeed. Around us on the mountain-face snow-melt caused waterfalls to cascade downwards which looked pretty nice. YOu can see this in the video below and images. I tasted some of the water too...It tasted like...Well, water, but fresh...Probably mixed with bird poo though I guess. No pain no gain right? I heard it has healing qualities...(Not really, I made that up).
We flew with Heliworks, the only operator permitted to land at Mt Earnslaw Burn. We found them to be really accommodating and helpful both in the booking process and the tour itself. We'll be back for sure.
We wandered a little, then just took a seat and drank it in, which is what Faith is doing here - It was hard to wipe the grins from our faces...This is one of the most peaceful places I have ever bean in my life...And I'll go back.
The tour was over all too soon however and we had to head back over the mountains to Queenstown airport. I took this photo as we made our way over. It was a little rough on the way back, especially as we came over the mountain peaks because the air deflects upwards and disrupts the aircraft - It wasn't uncomfortable though, and all added to the experience of it.
I've spent some time in helicopters over the years and they never fail to amaze me...They should't fly really, but fortunately they do, and are incredible works of engineering. I have flown over a lot of places but never have they been so spectacular. I would do this again in a heart-beat and highly recommend the experience to any heading to New Zealand.
If you're keen to see some in-flight video of our tour feel free to click below. It's nothing special, just some GoPro footage that sort of puts it into perspective. It runs for 6:11 minutes.
Thanks for reading...Now you know where I'd rather be right now on this Wednesday afternoon.
Tomorrow isn't promised - Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default
An original post written by a human
Discord: galenkp#9209 🇦🇺
Awesome picture. I was surprised to see that.The white snow and mountains are united with the sky i really do not see such a scene here. so I like to see such a scene. thank you for sharing.
You're welcome for the images, I am glad you enjoyed them.
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That was quite incredible! Thank you for sharing. Nice video. What a beautiful place! I gotta say, that would be a nice Wednesday.
It was a pretty cool thing that's for sure. It wasn't the helo ride, been there done that, it was the place itself...Bloody awesome cobber!
I bet! I miss the glacial mountains of Glacier National Park in Montana, and also the Rockies in Colorado. I hiked extensively in both when I was a kid. I loved it. One day, I'll go back and enjoy that kind of beauty, again. :) Your wife is stunning! Audie thinks so, too... well, actually she was the first to say it, as I was not going to, but alas, I do agree! Sending you both much love!
Yeah, I don't know how I snagged her, I'm not even rich! Lol. I'm punching well above my weight, I know. Still, she hangs around for some reason, so hopefully that continues.
Wilderness is awesome dude...Less people, less noise, more ability to connect with self and the planet.
Hope you're well.
I just took a bit of a hard hit, regarding a job that ended up being a farce. It was an elaborate scam, which we fortunately identified. The pay for the job would have been life changing for us, and it took a day and a half to get through the whole ordeal. The end contained great disappointment, but things will be fine. Persistence, isn't that right? Well, I will carry on relentlessly, till I break down the walls, brick-by-brick, pebble-by-pebble if I have to! :)
Oh, that's disconcerting indeed. Bummer. Still, you have it right...Persistence my man...Is the only way...Things could have been worse...You could have been deeper involved and wasted more time and effort...This way you chalk it up to experience and move to the next opportunity.
I wondered where you were actually; Now I know. Thanks for letting me know and I think you have the right attitude.
Be relentless in the things you pursue.
!ENGAGE 25
Thanks, brother. Always a good word from you! Always great timing, too!
@badseedalchemist you have received
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If you wanted healing water, you should have just ordered some of that diamond filtered water that's, like, $100 a bottle. Using that for an enema would heal you harder than snorting the melted wax from a vagina candle.
Cool photos though, by the way. Hope your MIL is still doing well.
Haha, yeah those emema's are the best thing ever. Nothing like a few litres of H20 up the ass.
She's ok. Was cleared but is not having issues again. They said 5 years so yeah, not a great prognosis. I haven't written much about it lately as it doesn't seem appropriate. I appreciate you asking though.
!ENGAGE 30
No, no. You gotta make sure it's diamond filtered water, you know, to purify your chakra's and make sure that you ejaculate nothing but pure testosterone and g-fuel.
Well, that isn't the greatest prognosis, no. But, do keep in mind, lots of people do well beyond the gateway they're given by their doctors. My grandpa was given 1 year and made it 3.5, for example. Hope that's the case with her as well.
G-fuel...Always good to spurt that allover the place. I wonder if Costco has diamond filtered water?
We're hoping 5 turns into 10. Thanks mate, much appreciated.
@deadspace you have received
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I love the main picture here, but each of the pictures are stunning in their own right.
I know that I’d prefer to be travelling around the world, meeting long time friends in person and having a great time.
I’ve thinking about how to make crypto, and activity on the block-chain more “real” for myself, based on what you said about Faith not seeing how it could affect your lifestyle.
Yesterday, for the first time ever, I went through the very simple process of withdrawing AU$3.40 from the exchange to my bank account. A small test amount in case anything went wrong.
There’s a 2pm cut off where it might take longer to process, but as I did it 12pm the money was there after midnight today.
Little things like this can cement the reality of what crypto can do. It’s easy to think of it in terms of “just numbers on a screen”, but when you write a blog post in cafe about the coffee and avocado on brown bread toast you’ve just eaten and the post gains enough upvotes to pay for the meal itself it becomes very real.
What may seem like a “side-hustle” could become your main hustle in the future, which would mean more time with your wife. That’s when it will become real to her.
I'd be pretty keen to hear about that bank transfer process. Are you going to the meet up next week?
Yes. Do you have a coinspot account?
If not, here's an affiliate link:
https://www.coinspot.com.au/join/F27J2Y
Full disclosure, they pay me $10 worth of Bitcoin if you use the link.
I think you can set up an account with a PayID (I went through long and difficult process of submitting passport and other ID stuff - which they kept rejecting for like 2 hours because the photo "wasn't quite right". Follow the instructions to the letter, etc. otherwise they get quite narky, but I would avoid this where possible.).
I had to put my camera on the fridge, use the self timer and holding up a piece of paper with their secret code phrase, making sure that my elbows were visible to ensure I hadn't photoshopped anything...
They WILL ring you to see if you're human and go through all of the legal spiel, etc.
But once it's set up, it's easier than what I had imagined. Don't use the POLi to deposit, because the minimum is like AU$50, use PayID instead (you can set this up on your bank's mobile app on your phone) because the minimum is like a dollar.
@holoz0r recently took his fiancee through the process and had it done in 15 minutes, so he might be able to find even better shortcuts to the process.
I have a Coinspot account already, saw that verification process and decided it was all too hard. I have used it to buy some BTC though and simply BPay money to my bank. It seems the passport process is required to send funds to my bank right? I'll investigate. Tax implications on funds are CGT related or is it just income Taxed...Maybe a question for my accountant. I assume is classed as income tax and also assume 50 cents in the dollar is the rate. I'll confirm that. You going next week?
Yes, I'll be there. I am not sure of the tax implications of it all. It could get rather messy really quickly. It was difficult process, but I think it's much easier now.
Is Bpay a faster transaction?
Yeah, I had to verify my bank account and only had a $200 deposit limit but they upped it to $2000 after a little while, I think across the board. Was quite simple. I did a post on it actually. I think I'll do the passport thing though, now I know you have and it seems safe. We'll talk on Thursday next week. Is it still at the Jade?
For now it is. Not sure about next month. See you then.
I'll do a post about it. Also, here's a little challenge for you:
"Can a post about a LEGO set pay for the LEGO set itself?"
Tag me in the post bro.
Umm, yeah a Lego post paying for the Lego itself...Good question. Probably, but I'm loathe to be steem-lego-bitcoin-pizza guy and so am unwilling to try it out just yet. Ask me when it hits $10! Lol.
Love that half snow look, either side of the ridge.
Yeah, that image is one of my favourites. It happens because the wind hits that side and makes it colder. The snow stays around longer. It was also really rough as the helo came over the crests as the wind pushed directly upwards...I think I might have said that already though. :)
Still at the Jade for the meet up next week mate?
Yup. Still at The Jade. We'll see out Summer there.
Well that's where I'd like to be right now too. Snow, sun and scenery. Shear awesomeness. And water with bird poo in the mountains sounds double great.
Lol, bird poo water never hurt anyone...Although to be honest that bird poo theory was never scientifically tested...I just sort of assumed it was in there.
Bird poo, it's everywhere.
We could bottle that and sell it as a health product. I'm sure it would be much more efficient than diamond filtered water that @deadspace suggested. They do fecal transplantations, so why not this way. We would just skip some hard steps and offer the product to our customers orally. We could call it... Birdpoo. Or Birpee! Yes! That sounds like a fashionable trend.
I'm a living proof that ingesting worms, mud and bacteria from the soil (as a child... yeeeees... when I was young...) gives a healthy basis to life. I was raised by worms. No. That came out wrong. I was raised with worms. No. That's not it either. Oh for goodness sake, I ate worms when I was little! And there's nothing worng... rwong... tuesday!hamancheese!exterminate! ...nothing wrong with me.
So who's with me? Bird poo health drink!
Birpee sounds like marketing genius! Crowdfund it! Lol.
Nothing like investing worms and mud. I think it was all Inate to the age of 5...That probably explains a lot I guess. 🤣
Anyway, I'll look out for #birpee at my local health food store!
I'm trying to think of a good catch phrase for an add but I have nothing.
"Birpee. Here's looking at you kid."
"Birpee. Because you're worth it."
"Birpee. You know you want to."
"Birpee. Just do it."
Naah... these all seem so... familiar.
Hmm...
"Birpee, because drinking your own is disgusting."
Whatcha think?
I think we have a winner! :D
Haha...No more brainstorming? I'm sure we could come up with better.
My brainstorm has died down. I better get some inspiration from watching few Simpsons of Futurama episodes for this.
Ah yes...The scary thing is that I watch neither, but could probably start on either, if I was a cartoon. Lol.
Looks like a fun trip.
Certainly was. Such an amazing place to go.
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What a great way to get a Bird's Eye view of some spectacular scenery, breath taking.
We really enjoyed the video.
Thanks mate, it was a blast! :)
!ENGAGE 20
Thanks @galenkp for your continued support.
I never really had any desire to fly in a helo, and after the crash that killed nine people including Koby Bryand and his daughter, I'll pass on flying.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Oh yeah, I heard about that. You know i didn't even know who that guy was...I don't follow basketball. Helicopters can be dangerous. Like I said in the post, they shouldn't fly, but somehow they do. They can be deadly in the wrong hands, or flying conditions though. I hope you have a great weekend.
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Wow that's amazing sir galenkp! Love those shots and video, I didn't realize NZ had such impressive mountains!
Yeah, they have snow year-round in places. It's a beautiful, no, amazing place and we'll be back.
Many times I have read You Diss Yer own photo skills..... But shout out to You.... They really are good.
Really Frikkin' GOOD...... True Story.