Dark Sky Project Summit Stargazing Experience at Mt John Observatory

This was my first stargazing tour, and it was even cheaper than the official website. The service was excellent; you don't have to worry about not having warm enough clothes, as they provide one-piece down jackets. It seemed like they had four or five sizes! The only downside was that we attended on the 15th day of the first lunar month, which was a full moon. This affected the stargazing, making it a bit less impressive than I had imagined. For the "Dark Sky Project," they transport you from the base of the mountain to the observatory reserve, where a specialist explains various astronomical phenomena. They also ask if anyone has questions about astronomy. If you're not familiar with the twelve planets and some specialized astronomical English terms, it might be a bit challenging to understand. However, they do offer an earlier session in Chinese. They also use the observatory's super-large stargazing telescope, which was my first time experiencing something like that, and I found it incredibly amazing and a rare opportunity! But if your visit falls around the new moon or full moon, I would advise against participating, as you might be disappointed.

Our tour guide, Tonic, is from Taiwan. His warm, cheerful smile and demeanor made me, also from Taiwan, feel especially welcome. His detailed explanations of astronomy greatly expanded my knowledge. I highly recommend this fun and educational stargazing tour to anyone visiting Tekapo.

Although I booked an English explanation, it was worth it! How many times in life can you go to the Stargazing Research Center to use such sophisticated instruments to observe the stars, and at the same time, there are three cameras to see the Milky Way, the moon, and the stars in a starry sky protection area without light pollution! It's a worthwhile experience!

We are super lucky as the day we join the sky is clear, we manage to see clearly. The guide taught us lots of knowledge regarding to stargazing. They provide warm coat for everyone and I suggest everyone to wear it as it will gets colder during stargazing. I will strongly recommend this tour to traveler who visit tekapo.

Absolutely loved it! We had perfect clear skies the day we had our experience. We headed for the meeting point 20 minutes prior to our departure time to listen in on what the weather was doing (they give a quick briefing). We then got suited up with warm jackets and hopped on the bus up to the top of the hill. Absolutely fantastic experience and the ski looks incredible from the top of Mt John Summit. We swapped between 3x telescopes and spent time learning about the constellations which was great. Would highly recommend this experience! There is a cafe at the summit which is open during the day if you're self-driving and want the best view of Lake Tekapo too. Would highly recommend self-driving up during the day. When you finish your experience they take you back to the meeting point where the shop is open if you want to purchase anything afterwards

My family went for the 2-hour Summit Experience stargazing guided tour by the Dark Sky Project. It was awesome! At the working Mount John Observatory at the top of the mountain overlooking Lake Tekapo. Insightful and interesting sharing by the experts, including evolution of stars and use of three different telescopes such as in one of the observatory domes, to look at the moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Jewel Box Cluster of stars, etc. A really unique, once-in-a-lifetime, memorable and both inspiring and inspirational experience 👍🙏😊

3/12/2024 Due to the weather, we were unable to see the beautiful Milky Way that day, but our colleague Mok at the center was still very patient and careful in explaining our questions about the starry sky, and his friendly Cantonese answers made us feel even warmer, as if we were in I met a friend I haven’t seen for a long time from afar. In addition, because we were unable to participate in other activities due to time constraints, we can get a full refund. We visited the center again on 4/12. My colleague Ada explained the refund procedure in detail. We sent an email to follow up with the service provider. The warm hospitality of every colleague left us with wonderful memories of the entire trip. We will wait for the next opportunity to meet again and witness the mystery of the starry sky together.

It takes half an hour to go up and down the mountain. The first 45 minutes are spent introducing the starry sky, and the last 45 minutes are spent taking photos and looking through the telescope. The introduction is very detailed. The tour guide also helped take photos.

Experience: The entire experience was great! Totally worth it! Annd explained everything in detail, was very patient, and even helped take photos, making the whole experience incredibly worthwhile! Equipment: Very complete, they provide a windproof and cold-proof jacket, which is super warm. Safety: They give each person a headlamp to illuminate the path, and they also remind everyone to buckle up when getting on the vehicle!

The stargazing experience at Mount John Observatory was incredibly impressive; the Milky Way was clearly visible, and the guided tour was professional and engaging. The environment, free from light pollution, was truly magical, making it one of the most romantic and unforgettable activities of our trip.