the remarkables

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Imagine you're loaded up in your snowmobile gear and jump onto a helicopter for a 12-minute ride from civilization.

The copter takes you up to a 7,400-acre snow-covered plateau inside The Remarkables Mountain Range on New Zealand's South Island.

This secluded mountain plateau - accessible only by helicopter - is set in the heart of the extreme alpine wilderness and provides the perfect environment for a thrilling snowmobile ride - in summer!

The Remarkables Mountain Range served as the backdrop for the "Lord of the Rings" movies. But you won't find any hobbits or trolls here, just a massive rolling plain that's the base for your snowmobile adventure.

The best part? Snowmobile season is just starting to gear up down under as spring weather is melting away the last snow in North America. The best snowmobiling is available here from late June into October.

The tour

Snowmobiling is nothing new here. Nevis Snowmobile Adventure has been running tours of the South Island for years, in an area known locally as the Old Woman Range. Tours start with the helicopter ride from the tourist mecca of Queenstown, include sledding in the range and your return copter ride to the big city.

Robert and Sandy Brown have been using snowmobiles here since 1974 as a means of transportation through the mountain pass to the nearest town, Cromwell. They soon found their sleds were in demand by movie crews and decided to set up Nevis Snowmobile Adventure.

They chose this area for the tour because of the amazing views from the 5,600-ft. high plateau, not to mention the spectacular views from the helicopter. For the tour, they keep 9 Ski-Doo Touring E LT sleds on the plateau. Although the sleds can run faster, Robert says he encourages riders to stay below 60 mph because of the area's extreme conditions.

"The majority of our clients are novices and basically come to Queenstown for an alpine holiday, so you have to be reasonably conservative. It is a real wilderness condition that we tour around and it has wilderness conditions. We strictly control it [the tour] because you can basically go off the side of the mountain. It has to be guided," Robert says.

The sledding

Through the years, a 13-mile touring loop has been established around the picturesque plateau. After taking a circuit around the training area, it's out to take in some of the most beautiful, wide open spaces you'll ever see. Once on the trail, sledders can go at their own pace as long as they stay with the pack.

"Where we go is a totally different area. In the U.S. you go much longer distances through trees or valleys. Our place is unique because it's a big plateau. It's like being at the South Pole. You have huge views over long distances," Robert says.

With groups ranging from 4-6 sleds, it's easy for people of any snowmobile skill level to take this tour.
Jill Hoar, from Australia's Gold Coast, had never been on a snowmobile before her Nevis tour with her husband.

"It was an absolutely fantastic trip. You feel like you are on top of the world," she says. "We stopped to see the great views over the Queenstown basin. I've been to Alaska and lived in Canada, but I was absolutely amazed at how beautiful it was."

The snowmobiling part of the tour is designed so riders can take their time to stop and take in the majestic scenery. The tour lasts 3 hours and includes roundtrip transportation from your hotel in Queenstown.

The company takes four tour groups out daily, each with 4-6 people, as long as the weather cooperates.
"We use a wind chill chart to see if it's safe to go out. At the moment, because it's so cold, we haven't been doing 8 a.m. tours. We even had to cancel a 10 a.m. trip the other day because it was so cold," Robert says. Tours that are cancelled because of the weather are rescheduled for the next good day, otherwise ticket prices are refunded in full.

Other activities

After the helicopter returns you to Queenstown, the adventure isn't over. This small alpine town also offers jet boating, parasailing, hot air ballooning, climbing, mountain biking, sky diving, kayaking, diving, white-water rafting and hang gliding, among other activities.

Pricing: No 2006 prices had been set by press time. But the tour, including helicopter transportation, was $520 for adults and $400 for children in 2005. Those prices are in New Zealand dollars.

Note too that there are direct flights to New Zealand from California, plus regular service between Sydney, Australia, and Queenstown.

More info: www.snowmobilenz.com