PAST ADVENTURES & CUSTOM PACKAGES
Heli Biking with Kriss Kyle & Remy Morton
2 February 2025
I'm halfway back to Hobart from the Huon Camp (Southwest National Park), where we have some iconic hiking trails with a group of bushwalkers. We stopped for coffee at Westerway (about halfway between Maydena and Hobart) when Tim Carman, the National Events Manager for Red Bull AU, called.
Having met Tim at the first Hardline event in 2024 when we moved all the athletes around, I figured the call was to talk about the 2025 Hardline that was on the horizon, but how wrong I was about to be, and how much more exciting Heli biking was going to be for 2025
"Hey Tim, how's it going, Mate? You wouldn't believe it, but I'm halfway between Maydena and Hobart.”
“That's why I'm calling. I just drove past you and thought it would be a good time to call; I know it's late, but what are the chances of getting Kriss Kyle and Remy Morton on for some heli biking?"
Well, you can work out the answer to that. Fast forward a few weeks, and we're all set for heli biking. With our photographer, Joeb, we took the short drive from our base to Cambridge to meet Dylan, Rotorlift’s Chief Pilot, an all-round legend, and our mate for the flight up to the West Coast.
So, with us in the air and Di already on the West Coast, we received the phone call on the way up (yes, you can take calls in the chopper) that Kriss and Remy had run out of fuel at Derwent Bridge en route to Zeehan. Luckily, they were near the servo and just had to wait an hour for it to open. A re-shuffle of flights on Di's end, and hey presto, everything was back on track.
It never gets old getting a helicopter flight to work. Picture this: I get dropped on top of a mountain; I climb out, grab my kit bags for the day, squat down over them next to the chopper, and give Dylan a quick thumbs up, and he's away.
Not long after, he's back and now with racks, riders, and bikes onboard. Of course, Kriss and Remy haven't arrived yet.
I knew when Kriss and Remy arrived because Di sent me a flood of text messages telling me how cool, down-to-earth, and awesome both Kriss and Remy were and how I would have such a sick time once they got up to me.
Well, Di wasn't lying. What a couple of legends! With photographers in tow, we shut the chopper down while they got photos and rode before we loaded back into the aircraft, leaving the camera guys to ride out. Dylan, one of the most talented and gifted pilots I have ever worked with, did a big orbit around the guys on the ground before we popped off the mountain and made a beeline back to the car park to drop excess gear, bikes, and racks off.
Once that was done, we took on a bit more fuel to return to Hobart and loaded back up again with Kriss, Remy, me, and Rob Potter for our flight to Hobart via Maydena to drop off Kriss and Remy. Flying back and being able to point out Mt Owen and other landmarks as we flew over them was sick.
I messaged Frenchie (Simon), who owns and operates Maydena, 10 minutes out, and he ensured our landing was clear for a touch-and-go to kick the guys out, and we were on our way without even shutting down.
Leaving Maydena, Dylan gave Rob and me a quick overview of the Maydena Hardline course before making a beeline for Hobart.
Hands down, it is one of the most incredible things we have ever done with the company. Riding bikes and hanging out with great people.
