Dark Sky Project's Crater Stargazing Experience in Lake Tekapo

The starry sky is beautiful and the weather isn't too cold. I'd highly recommend visiting Tekapo. However, later on the clouds got a bit thick and the moon was a bit bright, which affected the stars. I suggest staying two nights, as you'll have a better chance of seeing the stars.

It was a very good experience to attend this tour. Although the sky was a bit cloudy, we much appreciated the staff guiding us to discover the beautiful sky and those touching stories of star.

The stargazing location is near the city, a ten-minute drive away. You can pick up a complimentary jacket before boarding the vehicle, and remember to use the restroom beforehand. The guide is also the driver. Upon arrival, they will first introduce some stars visible to the naked eye, then you'll use different telescopes to observe pre-set star clusters that are easy to view. You can use your phone to take pictures when moving between telescopes, but flash photography is not allowed. The time is quite tight, so you can only take a few photos of the starry sky with a simple phone tripod. After everyone has finished looking through the telescopes, the guide will ask other staff members to adjust the telescopes to observe other star clusters, and finally introduce some currently visible constellations. Overall, it's educational and interesting, but the time is too short, making it not very cost-effective. Additionally, I suggest correcting the Chinese translation of the itinerary to avoid misleading guests; the 'crater experience' has nothing to do with volcanoes, but refers to craters on the moon.

Director Andy was humorous and patient, which added a lot of fun to the experience. The entire activity was very educational, especially suitable for those with no prior knowledge of celestial bodies. There were down jackets available in various sizes for loan, so there was no need to worry about being cold, and they were all very clean. The only two downsides were that you couldn't lie down to stargaze, only stand and look up; and even with the super telescope, you could only see tiny glowing dots. However, overall, it was a very enjoyable experience, and we were also very lucky to see a bit of the aurora and even capture some photos.

We didn't end up seeing the stars because it was too cloudy. The person in charge was very helpful and rescheduled for us, but even on the new date, they said we wouldn't be able to see anything, so we didn't go. KLOOK quickly arranged a refund.

You'll find many different stars visible to families in Hong Kong, such as the Southern Cross, Virgo, and Scorpio. There are also various telescopes to help us see some of the twinkling or glowing celestial bodies. Attractions along the way:

The experience felt magical and expertly guided. The view of the night sky was breathtaking. The guides were incredibly knowledgeable, explaining constellations, planets, and the stories behind them in a way that was both fascinating and easy to follow. Using the powerful telescopes made the stars and galaxies feel closer than ever. This was the highlight of my trip—an inspiring, peaceful, and truly world-class stargazing adventure.

An amazing experience on a self-guided tour. Neo and Aki are both excellent guides, and you can gain a lot of knowledge related to the stars, the meaning of stars to the Maori people, and the irreplaceable beautiful starry sky. PS: The photos are not even 1/10,000th as good as seeing it with your own eyes.

group size: 7 guide: very knowledgeable. They point out southern cross in the sky easily using a very strong laser. We were lucky to witness the satellite train going up into the sky.

Luckily the weather was good. I estimate I saw over 2000 stars with my naked eye, which was very impressive. Unfortunately, I wasn't that interested, sorry guide. I still recommend going.