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nz designer winter wardrobe Arrowtown fashion destination Wallace and Gibbs is once again hitting the mark for the style-conscious with sophisticated and edgy winter fashion from top New Zealand designers. The new season collections from high fashion labels such as Obi, Chocolat and Andrea Moore have filled the store with rich winter colour tones and fresh originality in style and design and an extensive range of beautiful knitwear styles. Layered garments from Obi provide a high level of versatility and warmth with soft winter wools and textured patterns. For trans seasonal travellers this collection can be easily mixed and matched to suit conditions anywhere in the world. The Obi cropped jacket with wider sleeves makes a bold statement as does winter’s key look of dresses and tunics with short hemlines perfect for wearing over skinny pants or tights. For the curvy figures and larger sizes the Chocolat range personifies elegance and beauty with sizing ranging from 10 – 22. The 08 collection has beautiful pieces that will take you from work to a café or out to dinner and the theatre.
helicopter adventures Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters is one of Queenstown’s foremost helicopter companies flying hundreds of people every year around the South Island’s scenic wilderness. Jane Brooke found out what it takes to run such an operation.
Six passengers arrive at once, a group of four Americans and an Irish couple. Gerry Conlan, Scenic Flight Manager for Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters is juggling four tasks at once, greeting his arrivals, taking phone calls, managing bookings and advising the pilots of their schedule for the day. “It can get hectic,” he says, “but it’s not hard to make people feel welcome, find out where they are from and how they are enjoying their trip.” It’s this simplistic approach to customer service, combined with a professional approach to business that has given the company such an excellent reputation. Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters CEO and chief pilot Pat West is modest about their success. “We’ve been around a long time, and just get on and do it. We’ve formed good relationships and have a good product which has resulted in a lot of repeat business.” Pat’s career began as an automotive engineer in the North Island. A love for hunting led him to study for his pilot’s licence and sell up and move to the South Island. Pat instructed at the Nelson Aviation College and worked as a pilot on the West Coast before taking over Glacier Southern Lakes in 1992. “It evolved from there.” “Tourism is our core business and we’ve got access into protected areas such as the Fiordland National Park. We hold the concession for the most landings at the Juno and Clarke Glaciers where only a few companies are allowed to fly.” The Department of Conservation’s concession system regulates the number of landings allowed by each helicopter company to ensure minimal impact on the environment. Glacier Southern Lakes has concessions to fly into pristine remote locations in the Mt Aspiring Park, to Lake Quill to visit the Southern Falls or to Mt Tutoko in the Fiordland National Park. Landing on a glacier, flying to Milford Sound or landing in the snow are the most popular excursions. A number of Milford options are available combining a glacier landing with a cruise of the stunning fiord and a landing on the
And men’s fashion statements include the latest looks from Cutler in winter shirts and jackets with a wide range of designer jeans and dress pants for work and play. For friendly and informative fashion advice and impeccable service, Wallace & Gibbs deliver this plus more in their beautiful stylish store in the heart of Arrowtown.
winter’s hottest looks
beach on the remote West Coast. During the winter Glacier Southern Lakes teams up with heliskiing operators Southern Lakes Heliski and Harris Mountain Heliski.
The latest winter street wear is filling the shelves at Ikon in Arrowtown reflecting up-to-the-minute fashion.
“We do also branch out into other areas,” says Pat. The company is involved in the busy film industry in the region, working on films such as Vertical Limit and more recently, 10,000BC. The company is also part of the Lakes District Air Rescue Trust, and does medivac work, hospital transfers and assists in search and rescue operations.
This season’s Workshop collection is all about colour with Rocket Red, Bottle Green, Indigo and Mars Orange adding punch to winter hues of graphite, trench and brown. It’s a defining mix that combines elegance with attitude and works well with the Workshop denim range that features elements of cool military styling, streettough fabrics, work wear and rock’n’roll-meets-punk shapes.
While the focus is on the Southern Lakes region, the company flies to Stewart Island, Fox and Franz Joseph, Christchurch and even Auckland. Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters currently employs four full time pilots and a number of casual staff with thousands of flying hours experience between them. Their helicopter fleet consists of four helicopters, three six-seaters and a three-seater. Gerry has been with the company for four years, and has an excellent rapport with not only customers, but other tourism businesses. “We focus on the top end.” he explains. “It’s quite normal to pay anything from $655 to $11,000 for a flight and that’s per person.” Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters does however cater for all budgets, with a landing on The Remarkables costing only $170 per person. “You never know who might walk through the door. Many of our clients are millionaires and have had opportunities to do some amazing things, yet they often come back from one of our trips saying it’s the best thing they’ve ever experienced.”
Exclusive fashion pieces straight out of Italy make up the Diesel Winter 08 collection which has a superb selection of winter coats and jackets to keep the big freeze at bay. Bright colours and edgy styling on jeans, shirts and tops for men and women plus a selection of dresses – Diesel never disappoints with some very cool accessories to boot. The Denny Rose winter range has chunky knits and scarves for women to wrap up in while the new label Scotch and Soda all the way from Amsterdam, is dressing guys in style this winter with high quality fabrics and tailored finishes. Ikon is a fashion haven for fashionistas on the hunt for that perfect item to enhance their leading edge wardrobe this winter.