The sky was perfect for an optimal experience and the tour “guide “ was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The experience was wonderful. My requirements were a bit challenging as I am in a wheelchair. The staff at both the centre in Tekapo and out at the viewing site were empathic and helpful. I would like to give a special mention to a young staff member at the viewing site whose name was Liam. He went above and beyond the call, helping to position my wheelchair to ensure I could use the telescope effectively. He also went out of his way to show me photographs of the views through the telescope of one area I was unable to access due to stairs. One sentence to his employer: ”He is a keeper”

I was hoping for cloud to cause a cancellation of this tour and allow me an uninterrupted sleep, but the night was very clear. I managed a nap before the midnight start. It was cold on the mountain but the provided jackets were comfortable and warm. Our guides were knowledgeable and friendly. I learned more about astronomy than I had expected. Definitely recommended.

We were booked on the crater experience at 10pm but it was cancelled as it was too cloudy. We were given the option of either a full refund or the virtual stargazing experience with a $40 per person refund. We opted for the virtual experience which we found disappointing and wished we had just got a refund. Strangely, when we exited the building the sky was clear and we could see the milky way very clearly

We did the late night crater experience (1:30 am) and it was fabulous. Marina was our guide and is extremely knowledgeable. We learned about some stars and constellations, a bit of what different cultures can see in them and why they were actually important for survival. The part where you look in telescope makes it even more incredible. We were lucky as the sky was clear and the moon not too shiny. We had a lovely driver from the meeting to the crater. Philipa had a great energy and made us sing to Rocketman. She was also an extra in the movie Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers! She was more than happy to talk to us about that experience. I really recommend this experience if you are in New Zealand. It was really worth it! Thank you to the team!

2:30 AM tour was well worth it. We were taken by bus up to the observatory where our guides pointed out constellations and let us look closely through the telescopes. Seeing the night sky in the southern hemisphere is really special coming from the northern hemisphere

What a con ! Paid for a summit experience which was very expensive, so utterly boring and not dark !! There was a full and very bright moon so it wasn't dark at all making it pointless. When I complained they told me that they expect their customers to look up the lunar cycle !!! Yeah right as if , they are apparently the experts so know the lunar cycles we'll in advance and just don't chose to tell you. I overheard a staff member asking if the tour was going ahead due to this so they already knew it would be crap. No presentations at all, waste of time, effort and lots of money. I regularly see a far better night sky from my garden in Perth ! Do not recommend , save your money.

Amazing.... Educational, interesting, spectacular views of stars, clusters, the moon.... Well informed and educated guides take you millions and billions of light years from home!;! Well worth the late night!

Unfortunately, cloudy skies caused cancellation of our Crater Experience at 1:30 am. We could have joined an earlier 10 pm English Summit Experience, where the viewing was still acceptable and there were no-shows, but there was insufficient staff to contact us in-time. We would have had to hang around for several hours on “stand-by”. Disappointing we missed this unique, celestial experience, and hope there are more English language tours available in the future, when we visit NZ the next time!

It was a very interesting experience, having never done something like this before! You can read the other reviews for full details, but effectively you get an informative tour about the Mt John Observatory (next door to Tekapo town), an introduction to the main stars and planets in the night sky, and then also a chance to use three of their telescopes to peer at various planets / stars. Overall, the tour is about 1hr 15mins in total I reckon (as total time end to end is 2 hours). Do wear warm, as even though we went on a summer night, and was told it was 10 degrees up there, it did get colder as the wind picked up! And you do a lot of standing around in the open. They do provide HUGE coats to borrow for free, definitely do take one. But bring a beanie and gloves too, if you have them. They are also rather ethical; if there is cloud cover, they will tell you before the tour starts, and you can opt for a refund. Note - this option is only for the Summit Experience, not for the cheaper Crater Experience. On our night, we were told before the tour that the skies were 80% clear, but there was risk of some movement of clouds from nearby. We were offered the choice of a refund, but we decided to go ahead. During the tour itself, the visibility got progressively worse. We were maybe 1hr into the tour, when they had to cut it short - the last 5-10 mins I believe. They offered a 50% refund to everyone, proactively. Which was a very fair result, IMO. Price-wise, its not cheap at NZD200+ per person. I wouldn't label it great value for money. But it is a very unique experience. Timing, I would say that the 10pm tour was a bit too early for peak-summer (1st Jan). The sun had barely set yet. I would say go for the tour at least 2 hours after sunset time, so you can get the full "dark sky" experience with all the stars visible. Do book in advance if you can, as the tour groups snatch up loads of tickets 6 months out, from what I've been told.

Really well organised and lots of fun. The night sky was absolutely stunning (and we’ve been to a few dark sky reserves). Clem was knowledgeable and the introductory talk was really interesting. It was amazing to actually see the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter ! We learnt a lot and would definitely recommend this experience. Grateful that extra warm jackets were provided.

We had a cold windy night but the clouds disappeared and the stars were brilliant. Hosts were knowledgeable and fun. We learned so much and would go again if we lived here

Phenomenal experience overall. Fun being driven up in the bus (especially the last section with no lights!). The space themed music was a nice addition. Would DEFINITELY recommend layering up, and taking one of their jackets - you’re out all night and it is COLD. Especially if it’s windy. Our tour guide - a beautiful feminine human (?name - we think Carl? (They said their name a lot but it’s been a couple weeks and many tours since we went!) … I digress! They were so incredibly clever and knowledgeable about the night sky. And their obvious passion for the stars and sky above us was infectious. They finished their tour with a really heartfelt message about humans needing to reconnect more with their neighbours to restore a greater sense of community and it was honestly tear-jerking. Especially for someone so young! It was overall a fab experience and would highly recommend the tour to anyone. Definitely do the Summit!

We were extremely lucky to get a window of opportunity as they'd only gone out once in the prior 2 weeks due to excessive cloud cover. 60% Cloudy at first then cleared up. Amazing how different the stars look when you're in an area of no light pollution ( ie: every city on the planet ) great experience and worth it but, just like glacier helicopters, I would recommend you go in with the expectation you may not be able to experience this and if you get to then treat it as a bonus to avoid disappointment. There is the virtual version but can't comment as we didn't need to do that. Tip - freezing and windy, dress accordingly.

We were originally booked onto the Summit Experience, however due to ice on the track we were rescheduled to the crater experience. The daytime was very cloudy so we were unsure if the tour would go ahead however, at 10:20 check-in the sky was almost 100% clear! The craters are man-made and provide shelter from the wind and from any light pollution. We could see the stars beautifully from it, and we had 3 telescopes (including a Hubble) to look at the stars through. The guides were awesome and full of information and we learnt so much about the night sky! Definitely worth doing if you’re in Tekapo for an evening, and still worth it if the summit experience isn’t possible!

The experience started at the headquarters, where we were each given a red light flashlight to be able to see our path, and offered heavier coats. Driven up to the crater along a bumpy path, and there were 4 telescopes and several guides/staff to help us understand what we were seeing. Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides, who answered all our questions and gave us more tidbits of information. It was a cold night, but we all came away smarter and more convinced of the importance of DARK SKIES!! The main guide had an awesome laser pointer that, I swear, went all the way out to the distant stars and galaxies to show us where we should be looking!