On the road to Tekapo

Lake Tekapo

It is thrilling to be out at night and gaze at the Southern Cross. This constellation is one of the most recognized sights in all the world, and is easily visible from everywhere in the Southern Hemisphere. It has been used throughout the millennia as a navigation anchor, and it is filled with meaning and mythology. The area around Lake Tekapo is one of the finest places anywhere to appreciate the Southern Cross and the night sky.

The International Dark Sky Association (IDA) is a non-profit organization, based in Tucson, that advocates for the protection of dark skies. It promotes an “international dark sky places program,” which recognizes communities around the world with exceptional dark sky treasures. Currently, there are sixteen Dark Sky Reserves in the world, and Lake Tekapo is one of them, in the Aoraki Mackenzie Region. There are also Dark Sky Sanctuaries, which is a step further than Reserves. These are remote places that are protected from light pollution. Great Barrier Island and Stewart Island, both in New Zealand, are two of the eleven sanctuaries worldwide.

Lake Tekapo (pronounced similar to “Peek-a-boo”) is all about the dark skies. It’s a tiny town, only 350 residents, and there are three companies that take people from all over the world out on stargazing tours. The business is called “astro-tourism.” It’s a new type of tourism; these companies did not exist five years ago.

National Geographic says that 80% of Americans cannot see the Milky Way. The entire island-nation of Singapore is so lit up that the Milky Way is invisible there. People in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Western Europe can live their whole lives without seeing it.

There are lots of places in the world with dark night skies. We’ve seen amazing, incredible stars in Oregon where we live, and in other remote areas. What makes this area special is the community-wide consciousness and effort to appreciate and maintain the darkness. Lake Tekapo does not send light up into the air. There are streetlights here, but they are low to the ground, and they are capped. The light stays on the ground. Driving through town at night, you can see your way, but the light is contained.

We went out on a stargazing tour because we wanted to learn a bit more about the Southern Sky. We met at 11:30 at night, and drove in a van about ten minutes outside of town, to an alpine reserve. It was dark, and the stars were out. I was interested especially in the Southern Cross and the stars around it. It is actually a very small constellation, but it is bright, and it is right in the Milky Way. There are two pointer stars that point to it, Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. Alpha Centauri is the closest star to earth, and both of the stars are very bright.

We also saw quite a few other constellations, most of which we can also see sometimes in Oregon, but they look different here. Orion is upside down. Through a large telescope, we saw double stars and two nebulae.

There was absolutely no other light out there, and the sky was super black with thousands of stars. A real visual treat. When we came back to town, even though it was still a spectacular sky, it was not as spectacular as just out of town. Astro-tourism might seem to be just another ploy in the tourist trade, but I think it’s a good thing. It promotes less development, not more. It gives people who might otherwise not have the chance, an opportunity to glimpse something that we are losing. It lets people appreciate the natural world. It’s all good.

In addition to the night-time star outing, we hiked and swam while we were in town. The lake itself is beautiful turquoise. It is glacially fed, and the color is from the dissolved sediment. The elevation is only about 2400 feet, but it has a mountain feel. Mount John is just over 3000 feet, and it has an observatory on top, which is used by the University of Canterbury. They also offer programs to the public.

Lake Tekapo is a beautiful little place. And, just to sweeten things up a little bit, they have a squash court here, which anybody can use. I saw it, and it wasn’t hard to find who had the key. “Here you go,” she said. Just the words that a humble passing-through juggler loves to hear.