Adrenaline fueled adventure and live entertainment kicked off the resurrection of the World Heli Challenge

36 of the worlds top skiers and boarders have taken residence in the small lake side township of Lake Hawea, near Queenstown in New Zealand.

The three helicopter accessed event days consisting of the Big Mountain, Freeride and VnC Downhill days need good weather conditions to fly into the mountains and today was the first day of the waiting period that lasts for two weeks.

Stormy and snowy conditions in the Makarora and Mt Aspiring National Park ranges meant that competition was put aside for the day. This made way for a handful of athletes to take on the raging river of the Kawarua George with Queenstown Rafts. The big winter of storm activity meant that the rivers were flowing in full force, making for exciting rafting conditions and providing the rush that these athletes live for.

The athletes enjoyed a VnC Cocktail on the beach at the end, making the most of the Queenstown adventure and lifestyle!

The Queenstown Rafting adventure is just one of a large array of activities that will occupy the days a head. Sky diving, BASE Jumping, surfing, the JAG Stunt Plane and more are a few of the activities in the event calendar.

For the latest blog entries, athlete profiles, web movies and photos of daily activities click into www.worldhelichallenge.com