Tekapo Stargazing

Tekapo Star Gazing offers two guided stargazing experiences in the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve – the largest dark sky reserve in the Southern Hemisphere. Whether you’re here for a relaxed hot pools and stargazing evening or a focused telescope tour of the southern night sky, we have a night for you.

Soak in the Stars Tour

Adult $179 | Senior/Student $159 | Child $115 | Family $499

The only guided hot pools and stargazing experience in New Zealand. Spend 90 minutes exploring the southern night sky through high-powered telescopes before relaxing in an exclusive hot pool – a combination you won’t find anywhere else.

Fully guided stargazing tour – Outdoor telescopes on clear nights, immersive VR indoors when it’s cloudy

Soak in your hot pool while your guide shares Māori legends woven into the stars

Telescope viewing of the southern night sky

Complimentary towels, robes, hot drinks and warm poncho coats.

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Scope at the Stars Tour

Adult $129 | Senior/Student $119 | Child $84 | Family $359

A 60-minute guided telescope tour of the Tekapo night sky, designed to get you under the stars and back to your accommodation well before midnight. Includes a complimentary daytime hot pools pass at Tekapo Springs.

Fully guided stargazing tour – Outdoor telescopes on clear nights, immersive VR indoors when it’s cloudy

Complimentary daytime hot pools pass – valid on the day of your tour or the following day

Telescope viewing of the southern night sky

Hot drinks and warm poncho coats provided

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EXPLORE THE NIGHT SKY IN ANY WEATHER – OUR VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE

On nights when cloud cover limits telescope viewing, your tour continues with our immersive guided Virtual Reality (VR) experience. Using stunning 360° imagery captured right here above Tekapo by Evans Taylor Digital, you’ll explore the southern night sky from iconic locations including the summit of Mt John — moving through constellations, galaxies, and nebulae with expert guidance.

It’s the same sky, the same stories, and the same guides — just with the clouds taken out of the way.

The VR experience is included as part of the Soak in the Stars and Scope at the Stars stargazing tours when weather conditions limit telescope viewing. It is not a standalone tour.

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A Journey of Discovery

Wonder at the dazzling beauty of millions of stars in some of the clearest, darkest night skies in the world. The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is one of 27 certified dark sky reserves worldwide and the largest one in the Southern Hemisphere. For Māori, this same night sky was far more than a spectacle – it was a sophisticated navigation system that guided voyagers across the vast Pacific Ocean, and a living calendar that shaped planting, harvesting, fishing, and the rhythms of daily life. Our guides bring both western and Māori science and deep cultural knowledge of these skies to life every night.

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