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It came close to being canceled due to the high winds. Thankfully we were able to go. After choosing our super warm Canada Goose jackets at the Dark Sky Reserve<\/a>, we boarded the minibus from the center to the Mt John Observatory<\/a>, about 15 minutes away from town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The observatory is NZ\u2019s main astronomical research facility, funded by the University of Canterbury in <\/a>Christchurch<\/a>. The observatory has the largest telescope in NZ, which searches for planets and other stars, along with four other telescopes, used for research focused on stars in the Milky Way galaxy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Windy and dark are two words that I would use to describe the atmosphere at the top once we got off the bus. Our group of 22 were led to the observatory and were given lots of information from our guide, the very enthusiastic Lucia, about the southern sky and galaxy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clinton, you would\u2019ve loved it! It was awesome to see so many stars without any light pollution, with our naked eye and through telescopes. We learned how to find the Southern Cross and how there is no North Star that we can see here in NZ, since we are too far south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About 10 minutes into our visit on the Mt John Observatory summit we saw the most amazing thing! The International Space Station, ISS<\/a>, zoomed across the horizon as clear as day. It was like a perfectly moving star with no flashing lights. The guide pointed it out to us and we were all equally wowed. When we got home, we looked up the viewing schedule on the NASA website<\/a> and sure enough it was right on schedule. We hope to see it again tonight from our front porch at the apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All bundled up it wasn\u2019t too cold, so 90 minutes outside at 10 p.m. was the right amount of time. A very cool experience, literally and figuratively!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yesterday\u2019s winds finally died down and left us with a beautiful, sunny and cloudless day today. Perfect for the Mt John Summit hike, a 5.5 mile circumference with great views of Lake Tekapo and the observatory at the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n We should\u2019ve heeded the advice of AllTrails hikers and hiked clockwise though; it was tough until we got to the top. We made it and the views were definitely worth the burn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mt John was named after an early farmer in the district, John Hay, who used to run Tekapo Station, the first sheep farm in the Mackenzie Basin. It was cool to see the observatory in the daytime as it helped give perspective to where we had been the night before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are headed to Mt Cook\/Aoraki tomorrow for a glacier tour and hike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 20 I know most of you are dying to know if we made it to our stargazing experience last night. We did! It came close to being canceled due to the high winds. Thankfully we were able to go. After choosing our super warm Canada Goose jackets at the Dark Sky Reserve, we boarded … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-new-zealand-south-island"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_9536-1-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4371,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/02\/the-big-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":1836,"position":0},"title":"The BIG day","author":"Victoria","date":"2 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"March 2 This will be the last post I write for the next 7 days. Pre-hike briefing & check-in for The Milford & Routeburn Treks Tomorrow we start our four-day Milford hike in Fiordland National Park. We will take a bus from Queenstown to Te Anau and then a 30\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_2457-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_2457-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_2457-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/img_2457-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8755,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/04\/abel-tasman-national-park-day-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":1836,"position":1},"title":"Abel Tasman National Park – Day 3","author":"Victoria","date":"4 April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"April 4 We left Meadowbank at 8:30 a.m. en route to our next destination, Torrent Bay Lodge. The most succinct way to describe our hike today is a climb up the mountain, descend the mountain, land on the beach. Repeat three more times for a total of 12.5 miles. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_9830-1-2.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_9830-1-2.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_9830-1-2.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/img_9830-1-2.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":373,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/26\/cable-bay\/","url_meta":{"origin":1836,"position":2},"title":"Cable Bay","author":"Victoria","date":"26 January 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"January 26 Cable Bay Panorama We started our day on a very winding road to\u00a0Cable Bay\u00a0just outside Nelson. Eyes on the road, Mitch! No sooner had I laid my towel down on the rocks, the\u00a0sandflies\u00a0started feasting on me. Welp that was the quickest beach day ever. Packed it all up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/img_4279-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C276&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1520,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/15\/clang-clang-clang-went-the-trolley\/","url_meta":{"origin":1836,"position":3},"title":"Clang Clang Clang Went The Trolley","author":"Victoria","date":"15 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"February 15 Child Sister Chili Potato Cheese Scone New Zealanders know how to make scones. Cheesy ones with spring onions seem to be the most popular and Child Sister went one step further by adding chunks of roasted potatoes. Yum. Plus, the coffee was so good Mitch had a second\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7813-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7813-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7813-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7813-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7813-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1651,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/17\/saturday-saltwater-therapy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1836,"position":4},"title":"Saturday Saltwater Therapy","author":"Victoria","date":"17 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"February 17 Off we go A two hour boat tour of the Banks Peninsula with Black Cat Cruises started off our day. We saw more Hector dolphins, but not nearly as many as we did in the Sounds or Kaik\u014dura. Still no whales, but we did see amazing scenery. Elephant\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_8654-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_8654-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_8654-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_8654-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_8654-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2578,"url":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/26\/there-is-light-at-the-end-of-every-tunnel-to-get-there-just-follow-the-silver-lining\/","url_meta":{"origin":1836,"position":5},"title":"\u201cThere is light at the end of every tunnel. To get there just follow the silver lining.\u201d","author":"Victoria","date":"26 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"February 26 Our BIG hike is one week from today. Yikes! To get some steps and elevation in, we took a relatively short but steep hike at Tunnel Beach Walk. There were beautiful coastal views and a really cool sandstone archway jutting out into the ocean. We walked through an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7347-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7347-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7347-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_7347-1-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1836"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1897,"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1836\/revisions\/1897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/myblogary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/img_9362-1.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&ssl=1\")
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Southern Cross Constellation
Mt John Research Observatory<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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