Join us for a unique, breathtaking stargazing experience at Cardrona this winter.
Nestled in the heart of the Southern Alps, the Cardrona Valley offers some of the best conditions on Earth for stargazing. Not only does it have a dark sky with minimal light pollution, but it’s far enough south to have a great vantage point to view the famous Southern Sky, & you may even see the Southern Lights!
Our alpine stargazing tour consists of two parts:
The first part is a naked eye astronomy tour. Your guide will talk about the night sky specific to our location in New Zealand. You’ll cover highlights of the Southern Sky, constellations, movements of planets, celestial navigation, & general information about what can be seen without the aid of a telescope.
In the second half of the tour, you’ll use our top of the line portable telescope to see (when visible):
Star clusters & nebulae
The Highlands, Maria & craters of our Moon
The moons of Jupiter (on the first tour of the night)
Rings of Saturn
Binary stars
Other galaxies
Your guide will explain what you’re looking at, & why it’s so cool!
Photo: Danny WarleyA Google map showing the area's light pollution – Cardrona's in a dark sky!
Cardrona is ideally placed between Queenstown & Wanaka so that it has very little light pollution – easily accessible from both towns but remote enough to show pristine views of the Southern night sky.
Your guide
Alex Thom has a BSC in Astronomy from the University of Colorado. He spent two years working in Education & Public Outreach, teaching space science at LASP in Colorado. Recently he spent a season doing research on New Zealand’s largest telescope, the MOAII, hunting for extra solar planets.
Schedule & pricing
Stargazing at Cardrona runs Tuesdays to Sundays from September 19 – October 14, 2017
We run one tour per night at 9pm
Tour is an hour & a half long
Dinner in Mezz is a three course set menu
The schedule is subject to change & weather conditions
Stargazing 2017 Pricing
Tour only
$99pp
Mezz dinner add-on
$50pp
Important information
It will be pretty chilly up on the mountain at night, so bring plenty of layers. We can provide jackets & snow boots if needed
The tour is not recommended for small children
Arrive 30mins early to ensure you have plenty of time to get ready
Stargazing is subject to weather conditions. A call will be made by 5pm each day & you will be informed if the tour is not running as scheduled
Bookings are essential – last bookings will be taken at 7pm on the day of the tour