Fire crews have contained a hard-to-reach blaze in hills near Queenstown.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokesman said crews were alerted about 2.30am to the fire, which was west of Kingston and south of Queenstown.
Crews from Garston, Kingston and Athol responded but took some time to locate the fire. They then found there was no road access so they requested helicopters to respond at first light.
From 6am the crews went back with the aid of two helicopters and the Invercargill command unit.
The helicopter had taken some firefighters to the blaze and dropped them off.
In an update shortly after 10am, Fenz said the fire, which covered an area about 7ha, was still burning but had been contained.
Crews were being taken back to the station via helicopter.
The Invercargill command unit would be released soon.
The fire was being monitored and a crew from Garston would go back in the afternoon to check on the progress.
