Queenstown · Ground ceremony + helicopter
Deer Park Heights Weddings & Heli Elopements
Marry surrounded by family on the hill above Queenstown, then fly on to the peaks together.
Feet on the ground first
Your family beside you, the mountains after
Not everyone you love can climb into a helicopter. Grandparents, little ones, a nervous flyer. Deer Park Heights solves that: a private hill above Queenstown you reach by road, looking over Lake Whakatipu curling past the Kelvin Peninsula.
You marry here with everyone close. Then, if you want it, the two of you fly off for mountain landings while your family heads down for a coffee in town. One day, both kinds of wedding.
At a glance
- Where
- Kelvin Heights, Queenstown, high above Lake Whakatipu and the Frankton Arm.
- What it is
- Privately owned farmland on the hill, where deer, sheep and cattle are still bred today.
- Getting there
- Road access only. Our team brings everyone up, since taxis and rideshares can't enter.
- Best for
- Family weddings, guests of every age, and couples who want a ground ceremony before a helicopter flight.
- Good to know
- Other visitors may be on the hill during your ceremony, and no open flames are permitted.
Marry, then fly
One ceremony, then the mountains
A real way couples spend the day with us. The ceremony stays on the ground; the landings are yours to choose, and we plan the flying around the weather and the light.
01 · Ceremony
Deer Park Heights
Our team brings your family up the hill and looks after the gate. Vows on the schist, a toast, and family portraits with the town spread out underneath.
02 · First landing
Coromandel Peak
Family returns to town while you board the helicopter for Wānaka's tussock ridgelines and the long blue lake.
03 · Second landing
Lake Lochnagar
Clear water tucked into the Richardson Mountains. For a wedding, the only practical way in is by air.
Add some ice
Glacier landing
Step out onto deep snow among the peaks of the Southern Alps, with the helicopter parked beside you. Bring a coat: it's colder up there than on the hill.
Or closer to home
Cecil Peak
You can see it from your ceremony spot. A short hop across the water if you'd like less time flying.
Rather skip the flight? A ground-only day is lovely here: vows, then an unhurried portrait walk across the ridgeline and by the tarns to the town lookout.
The lookouts
Two sides of the hill, two different views
The western ledge
Look down on the town and Lake Whakatipu, then out to Cecil Peak, Walter Peak, Mount Nicholas and the Alps. This is where most of our couples say their vows.
The eastern lookout
Here the view turns to river country: the Shotover and Kawarau, the Wakatipu basin out to Arrowtown, The Remarkables, and the lake's southern arm heading for Kingston.
Tarns and paths
Small ponds sit between the viewpoints along easy tracks. We pick spots and distances to suit everyone, including guests who can't walk far.
Nobody can book Queenstown sunshine, and up here that isn't a loss. When mist rolls in from Cecil Peak the basin goes silent, and this couple's softest, most film-like portraits came from exactly that weather.
A wedding on the hill
The first look, the hug, the rings
The groom waits facing away, failing to hide a smile. The bride climbs through the tussock, wind in her gown, while relatives watching from higher up spot her before he does. Then the turn. Happy tears, a long embrace nobody wanted to end, and the ring catching what little light the overcast sky allowed.
A toast with the people who matter, then bubbles flying over the ridge.
Who you'll be with
Planned and photographed by the same people
Cristian and Arabella plan your day, run it on the hill and photograph it. They know where the light lands on the western ledge, which paths suit your grandparents, and how to fit a flight around a family ceremony without anyone feeling rushed.
A working farm
Your other guests: deer, tahr and friends
Deer fencing went up here in 1966, and the land has been farmed ever since, with deer, sheep and cattle still bred today. You might spot stags in the tussock or tahr on a bluff, and the kunekune pigs rarely miss a visitor. Nothing is scheduled, so any encounter is a bonus.
Red deer stags
Scottish stock, introduced to New Zealand in 1851. Each spring the antlers regrow, sometimes around 2 cm daily, and are shed once the autumn rut is over.
Red deer on the hill
Shy by nature. Keep voices low between portraits and you may catch them watching.
Fallow deer
Here since 1864, originally from Britain. Roughly 100 share a separate paddock; the near-white animals are the Black Fallow variety.
Himalayan tahr
Wild tahr were first let go in the Southern Alps in 1904. The animals here grew up from wild-caught kids and love the steepest ground.
Highland cattle
Shaggy coats and heavy fringes, bred for Highland winters. Admire them from a distance only.
Goats
Goats arrived with the gold rush miners. Many on the farm trace back to kids captured near Skippers Canyon.
Llamas and alpacas
Neither species exists in the wild. Look for curved, banana-like ears on the taller llamas; the alpacas grow the prized fleece.
Kunekune pigs
Short, plump and bristly, a breed tied to Aotearoa. Happiest in the mud wallow, quickest when feed appears.
Miniature horses
Standing roughly 34–38 inches, a type once kept by European aristocracy in the 1600s. Expect energy when feed is out.
Donkeys
Gentle faces and big ears, grazing alongside the miniature horses.
Animals and your guests
Kids tend to head straight for the pigs and goats. Coin-operated feed is available on site; it's the only food allowed, and it goes on the ground rather than from the hand. No outside snacks, nothing for horned or antlered animals, and we never try to stage animals in your photos.
Animal photos courtesy of Deer Park Heights
On screen
The hill that played Rohan
Fans of The Lord of the Rings may recognise the ridgelines: this farm was Peter Jackson's Rohan in The Two Towers. The exodus from Edoras beside the tarn, Éowyn's lakeside camp, Gimli's fall from the saddle and Aragorn's plunge during the warg fight were shot on this land.
Crews for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Pete's Dragon and The Rescue have worked here as well. Nothing is left standing from filming; it's the open landscape itself that starred.
Leaving Edoras, past the tarn. 
Camp beside the water. 
Gimli hits the ground. 
The warg fight near the edge.
Stills: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), New Line Cinema. Included as film reference only; copyright remains with the studio.
Safe on the farm
Farm rules we share with every guest
01
Drive slowly
The farm track is shared with stock and people on foot, so go gently and use the passing bays.
02
Vehicle-only zones
Inside the Hard Antler Block, nobody gets out of the car. No exceptions.
03
Leave animals be
Give every animal space. Anything with horns or antlers gets no food at all.
04
Keep children close
Children hold an adult's hand near any animal.
05
Follow the signs
Stay out of closed or works areas. Farm signage and our crew have the final say.
06
Dress for the hill
Grippy footwear and an extra layer. Mountain weather shifts fast in every season.
Planning notes
The details we sort for you
Guests and vendors
Guest caps differ between elopements and small weddings. Share headcount, suppliers and accessibility needs and we'll check it all. Candles and other open flames aren't allowed.
Arriving
Some navigation apps show a former gate, and taxis or rideshares aren't permitted. We send every guest precise directions.
Weather and backup
Snow, storms or farm activity can close the road, so we always build in an alternative. See our weather guide for how that works.
Privacy
Members of the public can visit during ceremonies, so we time and place things for the most seclusion possible.
Deer Park Heights wedding questions
It sits on the Kelvin Heights side of Queenstown: privately owned farmland looking over the town, the Frankton Arm and Lake Whakatipu.
No. Everyone arrives by road with our team. Flying is an optional extra once the vows are done, for couples who want alpine landings too.
Yes, it's our signature format at this location. Marry with loved ones on the hill, then fly as a couple to Coromandel Peak, Lake Lochnagar, Cecil Peak, a glacier landing in the Southern Alps, or a combination.
Yes. Road access makes this one of the most family-friendly ceremony sites around Queenstown. Share guest numbers and accessibility needs and we'll confirm the options.
No. They can't enter the property, and some navigation apps still show a former gate. We give your guests exact directions and transport.
Not fully, since the public can visit during ceremonies. We schedule and position you to keep things as intimate as we can.
Usually, though nothing is guaranteed. If guests want to feed them, use only the farm's own coin-operated feed, throw it on the ground, and skip anything with horns or antlers.
Yes. Scenes of Rohan in The Two Towers were shot here, among them the refugee column by the tarn and the warg ambush. X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Pete's Dragon also used the property. What you see is natural landscape, not a built set.
Access can change with snow, storms or farm operations, so every booking has a plan B. Moody low cloud is often when the photos look best.
Keep planning
Cecil Peak
Visible from the ceremony ledge and a quick flight over Lake Whakatipu.
Coromandel Peak
Tussock ridgelines over Lake Wānaka, a popular first landing after vows on the hill.
Packages
See what's included and choose how much flying you want.
Family on the hill, then the sky
Tell us your date, guests and how much flying you'd love, and we'll shape the day.