As I mentioned in the previous post, we found this company through a booklet on the desk in the Grand Suites Lake Tekapo. I didn’t want to pre-book a stargazing tour as I had no idea about the weather forecast until closer to our evening in the area. It’s shoulder season in New Zealand so there seemed to be last minute availability on most tours and attractions that we booked on this trip.

Lake Tekapo is in the Dark Sky Reserve, an area known for having great stargazing. The weather is pretty good most of the time and there is minimal light pollution as it’s a very small town. The businesses and residences located there make it a point to keep their external lighting to a minimum.

The tour was scheduled from 9pm-10:30pm. We drove over to a nearby park just before 9pm and parked next to a campervan that was the only vehicle in the dark parking lot. At 9pm, a man exited the van and came over to introduce himself. He was the owner and astronomer for Astro Tekapo. He had previously lived in Europe and then Chile before moving to New Zealand.

There were only two other people on our tour, a very nice couple from Mexico. We walked through the park to a clearing where there were two telescopes set up and four padded chairs. We first got a good explanation of what we would be seeing and some of the constellations that we could see with the naked eye as the sky got darker. He also handed out blankets which my wife appreciated as it got a bit chilly as the evening wore on.

I was able to get some pictures of the Southern Lights with my phone although there was still a bit of light pollution from the town.

Our guide got a much better picture using a better camera.

We also got some pictures of constellations and the Milky Way.

Again, obviously the pictures sent by our guide taken with the help of the telescope were much better.

That last picture is of another galaxy hundreds of light years away.

After a while, we sat in the chairs and were given hot chocolate while he gave us a bit more of his background and explained more about what we were seeing.

In the end, we ran a bit longer than scheduled, but nobody minded as the experience was interesting an informative. There are definitely larger companies that run these types of experiences, but I enjoyed Astro Tekapo. It’s a one-man operation and he puts a lot of his heart and soul into something he is obviously passionate about.

I recommend this company if you happen to pass through Lake Tekapo on a clear night for stargazing. If it’s peak season (December-February), you will have to pre-book as these types of things fill up in advance. If it’s not peak season, you can probably wait and see how the weather is on the day.

Up Next: Driving from Lake Tekapo to Wanaka via Mount Cook

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