How did you get such a great shot ? That view is to die for! How high was this picture taken from? These were questions that came to mind whenever I see pictures snapped from up above plastered over social media, including travel articles that I come across. Ahhhh, it’s taken with a drone. I longed to get one for myself since a few years ago, when I first laid eyes on the Phantom.
Next question was, which drone should I get? There were tons to choose from ! My priority was making sure that it was portable & light, without much sacrifice to the quality of the picture/video. That narrowed it down to 2 options that were available at the market (back in February of 2017). The DJI Mavic Pro or the GoPro Karma? After much hesitation and a ton of research, i made the decision to go with the DJI Mavic Pro, before embarking to Middle-earth in the next 6 weeks.
With what limited practice I had back home, I was all set to go. I’m no expert, but keeping it under control was my top priority. I wasn’t going to let it drift off in the wind after loosing control (heaven forbid), or let a giant eagle snatch it out of the skies. 2 weeks before leaving, and after a little googling I came to realise that each specific country had their own set of drone laws people need to comply with. Thankfully this website I stumbled across called Airshare got me all set up for droning in New Zealand. All the tips for flying and laws that needed to be obeyed are categorically listed in this informative website. Drone owners have to apply for a sort of permit for each flight, every time a flight is about to take place. Also taking note of restricted zones and NFZ’s (no fly zones) around the country.
My first flight in beautiful New Zealand took place on the outskirts of Auckland on our drive to Hobbiton. The view was already amazing as we were driving by the highway, but the view from up above, gave me such a great perspective of the countryside.


Initially my plan was to get my drone up and flying around Hobbiton, but unfortunately it is now designated as a no fly zone based on the park operators. Such a shame, would have gotten some great views I’d imagine.
Flying my Mavic Pro around Christchurch would probably be the highlight of my trip in terms of droning, as there were clear skies and a gorgeous sunset that accompanied me throughout the entire flight duration. New Brighton pier was just simply breathtaking. I would highly recommend anyone who’s thinking of flying a drone around the city, to head there. The only concern I had was the crazy howling winds which tested the hovering skills of the drone, but it put up a good fight.






Here’s a video the wonderful time I had flying around New Brighton Pier that evening. Still lots of room for improvement in controlling the drone, but hey practice makes perfect right? It still brings a huge smile to my face whenever i replay this video. To more drone footages in the future! Better editing skills hopefully too.
The sleepy town of Franz Josef was where my 3rd flight took place. I really wanted to bring it to the foot of the glacier and fly it up, but alas the entire park surrounding the glacier is also a no fly zone as indicated by numerous signage, which was also mentioned by our walking guide. I had to make do with flying around the river nearby the small town.



Next stop, New Zealand’s adventure town, Queenstown. This was a tricky place for Airshare to approve my ‘permit’ but nevertheless, it was approved upon several conditions met, and i was glad it was. Set on a mountainous region, the texture of the landscape was varied with each shot I took with the drone. Before lurching on full babble mode, I’ll just let the pictures do the talking to show you how beautiful this place is.






Embarking on our road trip to Wanaka a couple of days after settling into Queenstown, we made an impromptu stop by Lake Hayes on our drive up north. Seemed only appropriate to take flight once more, to scout what views this lonesome gorgeous lake and surroundings had to offer from up above.



Unfortunately I couldn’t get more shots in other places such as Milford Sounds and Wanaka due to bad weather and time constraints. Guess I’ll just have to return some day, to capture what I missed out on. It’s quite unbelievable at times, to find out things can look so different and beautiful from up above. Fly safe people.
Georg Fuhrmann
November 17, 2017 — 8:17 pm
Hi there
We are haeding to NZ in Feb 2018….could xou give me the contacts you had for permission flying the drone az Queenstown?
Thanks a lot and best regards
George
Jonathan
November 20, 2017 — 12:36 pm
Hi there George,
Actually all i did was just sign up an account at https://www.airshare.co.nz/ and then submit the flights that i was gonna me making with the drone. After signing up an account head over to My Flights, and key in your desired location for flying and fill out the details and await for a confirmation reply. For Queenstown it was in an aerodrome area, they required me to make a call to the nearest ATC (phone number will be provided in the confirmation reply) and notify them before taking off, and after landing.
Happy flying ! Queenstown is simply gorgeous from above !
Jon.
Corinna
December 8, 2017 — 9:48 pm
Hey Jon,
How far in advance did you submit the flights on Airshare? I’ll be in NZ in January and our travel plan is very loose, so I’m hoping I could submit flights as soon as 1 day in advance. Any tips?
Awesome page, amazing pictures!
Cheers,
Corinna
Jonathan
December 9, 2017 — 6:22 pm
Hey Corinna,
Thank you for the kind words !
If i’m not mistaken, I submitted my flights about 2 weeks before going? They replied pretty quick actually, at most it took them 2 days to do so. I guess you could always apply for as many flights as you want in different areas 🙂 I did the same because I wasn’t sure where I would be on some days. Some places where no aerodromes or restrictive fly zones were present, the system automatically replied me saying no authorisation required, and that you were good to go.
I would suggest taking a look at the no fly zone map, and then plot out where you would tentatively be and apply for the flights where authorisation is required 🙂 You’re gonna have such a good time ! The only trouble i had was running out of batteries for my mavic ! haha
Cheers,
Jonathan.
Cheuk-Man Ho
February 2, 2018 — 4:30 pm
Hi Jonathan,
I’m Getting married in Wanaka, New Zealandin Feb and would like to use the drone for some of the photo shoot, I’ve read about the 101 and 102 licence, did you have to apply for that as well? There was one info I read that if it’s a hobbie, then you don’t need the licence? I read you just logged your flight on airshare.
Thanks in advance for you help
Kind regards
Cheuk
Jonathan
February 6, 2018 — 11:50 pm
Hey there Cheuk,
Sorry for the late response, I just got back from vacation. I didn’t actually apply for any special license, I guess I fell under the 101 licence as it’s just a hobby/recreation for me, plus the drone was not more than 25 kilos, I just used my Mavic Pro mostly so I was good to go. I suppose all you have to do is comply with the 12 key items listed under the 101 license and you’re fine? Unless you need to do night flights or operate a drone weighing more than 25 kilos then you should contact AirShare on how to obtain the 102 licence.
Yeah you’re right, all I did was log my flights for controlled areas or even free areas just in case 🙂 Didn’t get into any trouble with it, but I tend to stay clear of crowded areas during take off and landings as some people might not be too friendly towards it. You’ll have great videos and shots I’m sure! Congratulations!
Jonathan.
Kushal
February 27, 2018 — 4:06 pm
Hi Jonathan,
Great pics!! Loved them
I am planning a trip to Queenstown soon and wanted to check the locations you shot the pics from.
It will be great if you could share your locations.
Jonathan
February 28, 2018 — 2:53 am
Hey Kushal,
Thank you for the kind words. Ahhh, for Queenstown, I mostly just took off by the shores of Lake Wakatipu nearby the playground next to a restaurant called ‘The Bathhouse’, or either on the edges of Queenstown gardens along the Queenstown walking trail where there are less people, sometimes even no one will be there.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/45%C2%B002'11.3%22S+168%C2%B039'35.3%22E/@-45.0364671,168.6510358,3716m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m13!1m6!3m5!1s0x0:0xedb87d854ab4303!2sThe+Bathhouse!8m2!3d-45.0343023!4d168.6620949!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d-45.0364684!4d168.6598122
I included a google map link of a spot where I found it most comfortable to fly, you’ll be alone most of the time by the side of the lake. Happy flying !
Angela
March 25, 2018 — 7:18 am
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks so much for writing this blog, there’s not a lot of information out there on flying drones in New Zealand. I am trying to fill out the forms on the airshare website and I just have a few questions:
1) Did you check off shielded operation when you applied? I am a little confused because it says there must be a physical barrier stopping the drone from flying into the aerodrome, how can there be a physical barrier circling all aerodromes?
2) What happens if you accidentally fly the drone out of the circle you selected on the map when you’re applying? Or were you always really careful about flying within the circle you listed on the map?
Thanks for such a great blog!
Jonathan
April 7, 2018 — 2:02 am
Hi Angela!
Thank you for the kind words, and sorry for the delayed response, i’ve just gotten back from my vacation.
To get back to you on Q1, i think i only checked off the shielded operation just once for all applications when i was in New Zealand, that was when i planned to go hiking into the hills around Queenstown. If i’m not mistaken what i understand by a physical barrier would be things like buildings, trees, or things like that that would be higher than your intended flight altitude. For example you intend to fly at let’s say 20 meters, but there’s a tree that’s 30 meters high, then you check off the shielded operation since you wont be flying above that, and would not be causing any obstruction in the air.
Q2. I was careful to not make sure i didn’t fly way out of the circled barrier that i made in the application, but then again i’m always a little nervous about flying too far out, so that was never really an issue for me. I do remember my first application though, I wasn’t sure how to fill it out, and I ended up circling the entire Queenstown and my application got rejected on the basis of “being too vague”, so I started to narrow down to specific targeted areas where I had some interest in flying after scouting the area on google maps 🙂 Circle as large as you logically would want to fly would be my advice, and if rejected, re apply with a smaller scale targeted area. That’s what i did after my first few times 🙂 HAPPY FLYING !
Carl
April 6, 2018 — 11:22 am
Hi Jonathan,
What wonderful pics you have! I was wondering if you have tried to fly your drone in the Avon River Area of Christchurch (with the trams and the gondola). I happened to see that you visited New Brighton Pier in Christchurch.
Do you have other areas on where you flew your drone while you were there?
I’m planning to fly also in places like Church of Good Shepherd, Mt. Cook (but i think is a no fly zone), even the glaciers (no fly zone)
Thanks!
Jonathan
April 7, 2018 — 2:23 am
Hi there Carl,
Thank you so much for the kind words! Ahh for Christchurch I actually only happened to be there for just one night, and after scouting on DJI’s no fly zone map, the only place that was a safe fly zone at that time was the New Brighton Pier, so that’s where I headed for the day to do my only flight 🙂 Not so sure about other areas in Christchurch, but your best best would be to scout the DJI NFZ maps to be sure.
I did do a few flights around Queenstown, and the surrounding areas such as Lake Hayes and nearby Wanaka. Also in the town of Franz Josef. I actually wanted to fly at the Franz Josef glacier itself when i went, because at that time the DJI NFZ map wasn’t updated, but after heading near the glaciers i saw a lot of No Drones signages around, so that didn’t happen. My best advice would be to just apply on AirShare and meet their requirements, and when you get there just comply to their local laws 🙂 you should be alright, so many great places to fly in New Zealand. I couldn’t get enough !
Carl
April 7, 2018 — 9:35 am
Thanks for the tip! Have a great day ahead!
Nikos
August 11, 2018 — 2:41 am
Nice footage Jonathan but I’m afraid the information you are offering to site visitors are quite misleading!
Legally flying a drone over NZ usually requires procedures that extend far more than just logging your flight on AirShare. AirShare only cares about interference with airports and controlled airspace. Unfortunally, their “clearance”, even though required, is not a permit to fly in the area you designated in your flight log. It’s just one step.
The NZ law clearly states that you need to get permission from the owner of the land you are going to fly over and this, together with private property, includes public spaces.
For example, if your drone is going to take off from a privately owned parking lot, pass over a road and go above a state owned forest, you need to contact the owner of the parking lot, New Zealand’s roads administration and whatever public service is responsible for the specific forest/park (probably the local counsel or the DOC).
Since, most of us care to fly our drones over NZ scenery and not private property, most of the times the local counsels and the DOC are responsible to give the permission (that is, if you are not within controlled airspace).
For example, your flight above Queenstown, unless it was above privately owned land and you contacted the owner for permission, was ILLEGAL, despite the airshare “clearance”. If you check the link below you will see that the Queenstown Lake District Counsel, which is responsible for the area, is banning all non-commercial drone activity in their jurisdiction:
https://www.qldc.govt.nz/events-and-recreation/parks-and-walkways/drones/
My summary above does not come even close to the full set of rules and complications to have permission for drone flights. You can find a good guide in airshare website here:
https://www.airshare.co.nz/tourist-questions-answered
In short, unfotunately, flying a drone legally in NZ as a tourist is a bureaucracy nightmare.
Jonathan
August 15, 2018 — 1:07 am
Hi Nikos.
Thanx for taking the time to respond to my blog entry. Back when i went in early 2017 I probably did not stumble across this or it must have been newly implemented as i remember researching it quite thoroughly for a couple of weeks before heading to NZ. Yeah i can imagine it must be a nightmare as the rules and regulations are constantly changing, and it’s hard to keep up with things. Really appreciate your response as now whoever that drops by here can get a good update on these regulation that i have missed out on.
Cheers!