36 | Southern Lakes Helicopters REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT T T Virginia Wright Experienced firmmeets diverse needs “Part of the attraction for our staff is that their families will grow up here with all the benefits of having all those outdoor activities on our back doorstep.” Founded by Sir Richard ‘Hannibal’ Hayes in 1982 Southern Lakes Helicopters is still run by the Hayes family and Sir Richard with 36,000 hours of flying to his name is still the pilot of choice for difficult Search and Rescue maneuvers when a badly injured person needs to be lifted out in tricky conditions. Sir Richard and his wife Dame Carol share the load of running the company with their son Michael, also a pilot with over 4000 hours to his name and now CEO, and his wife Dominique who is Southern Lakes Helicopters’ Financial Officer Simon Trotter recently joined the company as General Manager having had a long term association with Southern Lakes Helicopters through its operations in Antarctica. “I’ve been working with them in my previous role with Antarctica New Zealand for the last decade. Southern Lakes have maintained a service contract to the New Zealand Antarctic Institute supporting scientific research in deep field locations involving complex logistics in a uniquely challenging environment.” With a total of 11 helicopters to cover their operations in the Fiordland and Mt.Cook regions as well as Antarctica it’s a significant logistical exercise. Their work involving preparing the DOC Great Walks for winter, pulling out bridges vulnerable to storms and flooding, coincides with the shoulder season at Mt. Cook between summer tourists and winter heli-ski operations both there and in Wanaka. Nevertheless says Simon, “there’s still crayfish and hunters to be moved, and then with winter the partnership with the Milford Road Alliance Group which manages and maintains the Milford Road with a lot of alpine monitoring of avalanche risk. Then avalanche control work or bombing when it’s needed to manage that risk to the road.” The road is a crucial piece of infrastructure and Southern Lakes Helicopters provides equally crucial services to ensure that it remains open as the sole lifeline in and out for the Department of Conservation, tourism, local businesses and not least the emergency services. “This work and partnership is one example of Southern Lakes investment into the community over many years,” says Simon. Providing support for charter boats and Real New Zealand means transporting guests to and from pick up points but also being part of the specialist team trained to manage water rescues for the lakes and the fiords in the case of any large-scale incidents, on top of Southern Lakes Helicopters CEO Micehael Hayes, left, and recently appointed general Manager Simon Trotter. their other responsibilities. “We work closely with the Fiordland Medical Centre and the paramedics who are part of our emergency response team, as well as Land Search and Rescue, and an aeromedical team which means working closely with Helicopters Otago, to provide emergency responses to the region,” explains Simon. While some emergency responses are run through the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington it’s the local assets who respond on the ground and in the air, depending on weather conditions. Southern Lakes specialist response skillsets include providing helicopter support services in challenging environmental Proud to support Southern Lakes Helicopters
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