Dark Sky Experience: Tekapo and Mt John

Departing Christchurch Airport before midday (time still to be finalized approx 11am), we will head to the Tekapo, approx. 3 hours by coach.

Arrive at our accommodation near the shores of Lake Tekapo, check in and a little leisure time to explore or relax.

Enjoy an early dinner with your group at Pepper Blue Water Rakinui Restaurant & Bar.

Then it is time to dress up warm for the nights activities, and get your camera gear ready. We meet this evening, to make our way by coach up Mt John, to the University of Canterbury Mt John Observatory, your guide will give you a little commentary on the way.

We begin our evening of activities on the mountaintop, with an intro to the area, and naked eye presentation.

There will be 4 "stations" set up for our evening, you are encouraged to explore the different activities.

• Telescope observation 1 - Using our domed 16" telescope as well as a 9.25" telescope, we will observe several objects in the night sky, your guide will provide commentary to describe each object and answer questions. Your guide will also be taking requests in case you would like to view something specific (dependent on what is visible)

• Telescope observation 2 - Using the University of Canterbury's B&C (Boller and Chivens) telescope we look at a handful of objects through this very powerful research telescope. It happens to be perfect for planets, so we'd probably observe Jupiter and Saturn with it!* Please note what we see will depend on time of year

• Astrophotography - On the patio (at the very summit of the observatory), a guide experienced in astrophotography will be using several mounts. A tracking mount to take guests cameras with their own lenses and take long exposures of the night sky ; a tracking telescope (likely RC8") to plug guest's cameras and take deep-sky images ; a tracking wide-field telescope to plug guest's cameras and take wider deep-sky images. These last two telescopes will be able to take Canon and Nikon cameras (*if you have other camera brands, you would need to bring your own adapters). The guide will also be offering to take portraits with long exposure that will be later uploaded on our account for guests to download.

• Relaxing area - Take a quiet moment and simply relax. There will be bean bags, blankets and some binoculars for you to sit down, relax and simple enjoy the sky.

During the evening a snack break will provided for hot drinks and a hot brownie or similar. and we will also take a group photo.

Late tonight , we will take the coach back down to Tekapo, to get a good nights rest.

Overnight at Peppers Resort

Take it easy this morning, enjoy a leisurely cooked breakfast at Pepper resort.

Your day is at leisure until the late afternoon. Explore the local area, get in some more photography, take a walk or visit Tekapo Springs for a soak in the hot pool (entrance not included). You may even be in the mood for some exercise and take a daylight walk back up Mount John.

OPTIONAL ACTIVITY (NZD 70 per person) Photo processing workshop.
2pm: For those keen photographers who would like to learn a little more about processing their astro photos, join us for a special workshop.

Mid/Late afternoon, meet back in town, where we have a guided tour, The Dark Sky Experience with a wonderful local guide.

Then it is time for another early dinner, this time at The Dark Sky Diner

Tonight we will head back up to Mt John for another night of activities, similar to the night before, however the aim is to focus on different themes.

Later we head back to our accommodation for the night.

Overnight at Peppers Resort.

Enjoy a cooked breakfast at Peppers Resort

8:30am Check out and return to Christchurch to arrive around midday. You will be dropped at Christchurch Airport.

For those of you continuing your journey on with us on our Southern Lights by Flight this evening, please take a quick break for lunch (own account).
Your afternoon Pre Flight Mission starts at either 1pm or 3pm at the International Antarctica Centre, approx. 5 minutes walk from the airport.

*Please note times are subject to change due to weather and the nature of this tour