Night Skies
Discover the stunning night skies of the Southern Way.
If you're a fan of stargazing, the Southern Way offers a truly exceptional experience with its minimal light pollution. During the summer months, you need to be patient and wait until later in the evening to witness the best celestial wonders.
Rakiura/Stewart Island is the southernmost Dark Sky Sanctuary and one of only four found in the southern hemisphere. With 85% of Rakiura protected as a National Park, it makes for a truly unique experience not just for star gazing but for the nocturnal wildlife on the island including the southern brown kiwi, Rakiura tokoeka. A guided tour is reccommended to get the most out of the experience.
The small town of Naseby has been recognised as New Zealand's first Dark Sky Community. Tours are available with an astrophysicist - or simply visit and look up for some of the best night sky views in the world.
The Southern Way region is one of New Zealand's finest stages for the Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights. From the wild Clutha coastline to Dunedin and beyond, the night skies here regularly come alive with shimmering curtains of green, pink, and purple. The best time to witness the lights is from March to September, when nights are at their darkest, with June and July offering the highest chances of a sighting. Whether you're a seasoned aurora chaser or a photographer hunting that perfect long-exposure shot, the Southern Way delivers the dark skies, the southern latitude, and the raw, unlit coastline to make it happen.
As with all great natural phenomena, nothing is guaranteed, but that's exactly what makes it worth chasing.
