Available languages
Mobile ticket
Our Pilots will take you up to 9500 ft above the patchwork Canterbury Plains with spectacular Panoramic views west to the Mountains and east to the Pacific Ocean.
Launching from the famous foothills of Mt Hutt. The flight can only be described as exhilarating, gliding above the treetops and rising up to watch as the Canterbury Plains roll out in front of you. Then looking west you will see the majestic snow caped Southern Alps.
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Methven
There can be few finer places to take a balloon flight than New Zealand's Canterbury Plains. We take off close to the foothills of Mt. Hutt, where the mountains provide excellent shelter from the prevailing North Westerly winds. We have unlimited airspace restrictions upto 9,500 ft which gives us fantastic views across the southern alps as far away as Mt. Cook and Mt. Aspiring and also looking East across the patchwork landscape of the plains to the Pacific coast. Methven is a great place to spend a few days with many other attractions including mountain walks and the Lord of the Rings site at Mt. Sunday.
Canterbury Region
We meet in the center of Methven where there is ample parking and conveniences. After introductions, we will travel in our 4X4 chase vehicle to the best launch site for the given wind direction on the day (approx. 20 mins). We will then have a safety briefing and inflate the balloons. After take-off we usually climb to a good altitude for seeing the panoramic views and take pictures (we also have a camera attached to the balloon for inflight photographs). After which we descend to a lower altitude for the second half of the flight where you will be able to see things on the ground better. After landing we will enjoy a celebration drink in the landing field and then travel back to Methven in the chase vehicle, which will have been following us throughout the flight.
Photos will be posted on Facebook or on request from us [email protected]
To finish we will be having a celebratory glass of Sparkling wine or fruit juice
81 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
aesurg,Mar 14, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
Our first experience of hot air ballooning and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Great people to book with. Pre-flight communication was excellent and Graham and his team on the day were great. It added to the experience that we all got involved in inflating the balloon at the start and packing up at the end. Graham takes you out to where he thinks might be suitable but then moves on if it’s not. We were lucky and our 2nd location was suitable and it didn’t take long to get set up and off we went. As people have said, you do take off and land in farmers field so there’s the potential for walking through mud….or worse. And once everything is packed up the whole experience is nicely topped off with a glass of champagne and a muffin. Definitely recommend doing this if you’re in the Methven area.
foodw2025,Feb 28, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
Loved this experience, beautiful and stunning scenery. Majestic flight and the team running it ran it like clockwork. Highly recommend doing this.






Adventure48264227477,Feb 24, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
Fantastic experience, I highly recommend. Very professional, we all helped where required with the set up and packing down. Great value for money.

Garry G,Feb 24, 2026
- Review from Viator
Great views with a great pilot, weather was awesome, even seen Mt Cook, travelled at 6,000 feet, and cruised across farm land.
Departure61133831334,Feb 22, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
Generally the team ist very friendly and it makes fun to both prepare the balloon and after the ride packing it up again with the other participants. Start and landing were both very smooth, ride took about one hour. Went up to 8000 feet and had stunning views of Mt Cook and other very high snow covered mountains and to the east Coast. Nevertheless it was a little bit disappointing to me that we did not stay very long on that elevation even though it was to my surprise neither windy nor cold up there. Instead in the second half we were riding in quite a low elevation across the different farms watching the cows and so on which to me was rather boring. Recommendable for those who want to have a closer look at farms, I personally would not do this again at this location.
wendydunn7,Feb 12, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
Unfortunately the weather didn’t behave well with low cloud postponing our experience until 9:45. We went through cloud and could view the tops of the mountains in a beautiful setting which was a bonus of the circumstances. We both really enjoyed our flight over the fields and rivers and highly recommend this experience- Wendy and Rex




Sunshine50558673345,Feb 7, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
Absolutely stunning views, very friendly and efficient team, 10/10 would recommend this trip if you're after something a bit different


breakingout2016,Jan 25, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
Fantastic way to spend a Sunday morning. Snow on the Southern Alps in the background, farm and river views and other mountains too. A very skilled team of two organised our flight and safely delivered us back. Fresh muffins and champers rounded off this informative and fun morning. Will be buying this as a gift for my other family members




OrangesLemons,Jan 16, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
What a wonderful experience. Graham and his team were professional and very knowledgeable which added to the amazing experience. We had a perfect day, felt 100% safe. Felt part of the team as we assisted in the setup. Their instructions were very clear which added to the confidence in the company. Would definitely recommend this company and experience. Ended the adventure with a glass of champagne. A perfect trip.






Tara W,Jan 15, 2026
- Review from Viator
What a wonderful day. Graham and his team were very professional and informative which added to the experience. Definitely would recommend this. It was lovely to be involved with the hands on aspect of the experience which made us feel part of a great team.
Operated by Adventure Balloons NZ