It's official – this is the world's greatest island for stargazing
It was as if a great celestial Bake Off was in action. Handfuls of sugar spilt across the sky and the faint floury stain of the Milky Way scattered overhead. With my neck craned all the way back, I felt dizzy trying to take in the immensity of it all. “Here, the stars are so bright you can read the newspaper at night,” laughs Hilde Hoven, one of the residents on New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island.
In August of this year, Great Barrier – a 30-minute flight north-east of Auckland – was the first island in the world to be designated a Dark Sky Sanctuary. It’s the third site in the world after the Cosmic Campground in the US state of New Mexico and the Gabriela Mistral Dark Sky Sanctuary, the site of Chile’s government observatory.
At a glance | The world's three Dark Sky Sanctuaries
This island of steep forested hills, wetlands and sweeping white-sand bays is completely off grid. All the residents are responsible for supplying their own power through solar, wind or gas. There are no billboards or street lights. And the complete lack of light pollution makes for a very sparkly stratosphere.
Typically, tourists come here to fish, hike and swap fast-paced city life for something slower. But come winter, visitor numbers drop from 12,000 to 2,500 and a solution was vital to support the island’s 900 residents. It seems the starry solution was staring them right in the face and local residents Gendie and Richard Somerville-Ryan decided to apply for Dark Sky status.
Working with Auckland astronomer Nalayini Davies, they took readings all over the island one clear crisp night and sent the results off to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) for review. “We thought we’d be a Reserve, but when the results came back they said, ‘You’re not a Reserve’ and we were really disappointed! They said, ‘Your readings are technically darker than instruments should be able to measure – you have a very dark sky indeed!’” grinned Gendie.
“What’s strange is the darkest readings came on the west coast, closest to Auckland, which proves their light dome doesn’t touch us. If it was too bright you wouldn’t see Venus on the horizon.”
Sanctuary rules are stricter than those of a Reserve because they have to be situated in a very remote location, promote long-term conservation and above all prove a night-sky brightness routinely equal to or darker than 21.5 mpsa (magnitudes per square arc second). Great Barrier Island has an mpsa of 21.97.
The effect has been immediate. After attending an intensive weekend training course – run by John Drummond, President of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand – to become Dark Sky Ambassadors, Hilde (originally a translator) banded together with two other locals – Orla Cumisky (who works at the pub) and Deborah Kilgallon (a full-time mum) – to found Good Heavens and they now offer private stargazing experiences, starlit dinners with a gourmet chef and, on set dates, stargazing on the local beaches.
Hilde had their 8in Dobsonian telescope trained at the sky. “OK, no peeking at your mobile phones – the white light destroys your night vision and it’ll take 10 minutes for your eyes to adjust again,” she said, as we snuggled into beanbags positioned on the terrace of the hilltop Trillium Lodge. She beamed a green laser to point out the constellations of Sagittarius, Capricorn and Scorpio. “In New Zealand, the scorpion’s tail is known as Maui’s Fishhook. Legend has it Maui [the Polynesian demigod] went fishing on his canoe one day and cast his hook into the ocean. As he hauled it in, many rocks appeared. He kept pulling and pulling until Aotearoa [New Zealand] appeared.”
Top tips for stargazers | How to make the most of the skies
Next, the telescope was tilted towards Jupiter to see its moons, then Saturn to spy on its icy rings. But best of all were the constellations that are never visible in the northern hemisphere, such as the Southern Cross and the Magellanic Clouds – dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. And the new ways of seeing the familiar, such as Matariki – the Maori name for the Pleiades star cluster. It’s appearance signals the start of the Maori New Year, but we know it as the Seven Sisters not far from Orion’s feet.
I was eager for more, so flew down to South Island – home to Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, established in 2012. One of eight reserves in the world, it includes the Mount John Observatory where travellers can use the most-powerful telescopes in the country to peer into deep space. But I wanted something more intimate.
Luke and Kaye Paardekooper run Mount Cook Lakeside Retreat on the shores of Lake Pukaki inside the reserve. Having hosted the likes of Oprah Winfrey, film director James Cameron and NASA planet-hunter Natalie Batalha, they’re well set up to offer luxury. Their private villa has uninterrupted views of the lake and an outdoor hot tub bubbling away at all times.
“Choose any bottle you like from the wine cellar, and then after dinner [a three-course affair prepared by chef Luke Mathewson] we’ll head over to the observatory for a spot of stargazing,” said Luke. Sadly, halfway through dinner, dark clouds rolled in, obscuring the skies.
“It’s best to visit in winter when the angles of the Earth allow you to see the full spread of the Milky Way – plus you don’t have to stay up too late for it to get dark,” said Kaye, who is on the local Dark Sky board. “Otherwise, time it for when the moon is new; visit when it’s full and the dark sky will be outshone.”
Tucking in to dessert, I asked the awkward question: “Will there be competition with Great Barrier Island now?” She shook her head. “No, the more people talking about dark skies the better – it’s not all about tourism, it just as much about conservation.”
One place taking conservation seriously is Skyscape, a new stargazing glasshouse that’s just won a Qualmark Environmental Gold Award (handed out to just nine per cent of New Zealand properties). Lying in the southwest corner of the reserve, this solar-powered, one-room hideaway is tucked, hobbit-style, into the hillside. Its grass roof makes it impossible to pick out amid the tussock-laden landscape.
10 of the world's best skies for stargazing
The brainchild of Bevan and Bridget Newland, Skyscape is set within the 6,000-acre Omahau Hill merino sheep station. Farm tours are offered, but mostly you’re left in seclusion to soak up the snow-capped Two Thumb and Ben Ohau ranges rolled out before you. Days are spent sipping fine wine, spotting Marcus, the local highland bull, watching Australasian hawks hunting rabbits and paradise ducks that “sound like fighter jets when they’re landing,” according to Bevan. There’s not another building in sight. Come nightfall, you can roll back the retractable sun blind, pull out the star chart and binoculars, and set to finding celestial bodies.
“There is Wi-Fi, but we tell people to turn it off. Skyscape is about totally switching off,” says Bevan. With a reported 99 per cent of Americans and Europeans no longer able to see the Milky Way due to light pollution, it’s time to head south. Move over Hollywood, there’s a new star in town.
Essentials
Emma Thomson travelled with Discover the World (01737 214291; discover-the-world.co.uk) which offers a tailor-made visit to Great Barrier Island from ￡860 per person (based on two sharing) including two nights at Earthsong Lodge (full board with four-course fine dining evening meals), return flights from Auckland to the island and transfers to the lodge. Also included is a private Good Heavens Dark Sky Experience, during which a Dark Sky Ambassador will guide you through the starry southern skies. Combine with a 14-night New Zealand Highlights self-drive from ￡2,760 per person, including return flights, accommodation and car rental.
Trillium Lodge (trilliumlodge.co.nz) offers a standard double with breakfast from NZ$230 (￡125); Skyscape (skyscape.co.nz) charge NZ$550 (￡295) per night for bed and breakfast; Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat (mtcookretreat.nz) charges NZ$3,320 (￡1,780) for two nights based on two sharing the villa, including a 90-min to two-hour wine cellar and observatory experience, a three-course dinner with complimentary wine and breakfast.
Useful Apps
SkyView: Pinpoints constellations live through your smartphone camera
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Events
The annual Aoraki Mackenzie Starlight Festival (phys.canterbury.ac.nz/starlightfestival) is held every October inside Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve.
Events include stargazing, lectures, planetarium shows, a tour of Mount John Observatory and documentaries on the night sky.
