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Alpine Stargazing Experience - Lake Tekapo

4.4
171
Embark on a small group stargazing tour with Silver River! Explore the stars with large telescopes, small groups & awesome guides allow us to wow you with full views of the southern night sky!

Embark on a small group stargazing tour with Silver River! Explore the stars with large telescopes, small groups & awesome guides allow us to wow you with full views of the southern night sky!

Highlights

  • Amazing 360° degree views of the night sky
  • Learn to navigate the night sky using our iconic Southern Cross
  • Look at stars, nebula, star clusters and many other celestial objects up close using the telescope
  • Explore the Milky Way and spot satellites and amazing shooting stars!
  • Small tour groups ensure a personalised experience

Are you ready to have your mind blown? Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Come and discover the wonders of the night sky on our 75 minute experience; including at least 60 mins under the stars with one of our epic guides. We use powerful 14” telescopes for awesome views of various deep space objects and special astro-lasers for easy naked-eye viewing of important stars and constellations.

At the end of your journey through our night sky, your guide will take a photo of your individual groups under the stars (Weather Dependent), capturing that picture-perfect moment. And our gift to you! Within 48 hours we will upload your photo onto our public Flickr website and then email you a link to download your digital copy of your photo so you can share with your family and friends, and of course on social media.

But wait, we’re not done. The perks of our tours keep on coming! We cap our tours at 10 - 12 people so our ratio of telescopes to guests is one of the lowest in the Tekapo region. Meaning, everyone will have plenty of time on the telescopes and plenty of opportunities to ask our guide questions. Our stargazing locations are super dark, with some of the lowest light pollution in Tekapo. We’re pretty pumped to run our tours from within the gold rated Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, some of the darkest skies on the entire planet.

Our Stargazing Tour Includes:

  • Complimentary transport to / from the Silver River Stargazing office in Tekapo to the stargazing site located just minutes away from Lake Tekapo Township
  • Use of our toasty warm down jackets
  • A guided tour of the night sky
  • Use of our14”modern telescopes
  • Small group tours
  • Little to no light pollution
  • Vast 360° views of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve
  • A photo taken under the stars for you to share with a digital link made available.
Adult $119.00
Child $99.00 (3 - 15 years old)
Family $359.00 (2 Adults + 2 Children)

What's included

  • Transport to / from the Silver River™ Stargazing locations (this does not include transport from your accommodation)
  • A 75 minute fully guided tour of the night sky
  • Warm down jackets are available for use
  • Experienced star guide
  • Group photo taken under the stars
  • Use of our powerful 14inch Telescopes

Duration

  • Allow approx. 75 minutes for this experience.

Location

  • 12 Rapuwai Lane
  • Lake Tekapo
  • 7999

Restrictions

  • Minimum age: 3
  • If your child requires a car seat, please ensure you bring this with you for their safety..

Child Friendly

  • This experience welcomes families with children.

Bad Weather Refunds

  • If your experience is cancelled by the operator (because of the bad weather, safety concerns, unscheduled maintenance etc) you will be entitled to a full refund.

Notes

  • Some of our tours start after midnight. Please check that you are booking for the correct date.

    The Operator has a limit of 1 infant per tour and they must be booked onto the earliest departure of the night, please contact the operator directly for a booking that includes an infant to check availability.

    All children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a responsible adult who is at least 16 years old.

    Maximum Capacity: 30 pax

    (Sessions will still be split into 2-3 smaller groups of around 10-12 pax each, but only one unified time should be displayed on the front end toprevent confusion. This has been mentioned in our activity description.)


    Terms & Conditions:Any cancellations made within 24 hours of your tours scheduled departure time will not be eligible for a refund. Bookings can be rescheduled any time up until 24 hours before the scheduled departure time of your tour.

Available Bookings from 13 Oct to 26 Oct 2026

Change Dates

All prices are shown in NZD ($)

Tue 13 Oct
Wed 14 Oct
Thu 15 Oct
Fri 16 Oct
Sat 17 Oct
Sun 18 Oct
Mon 19 Oct
Tue 20 Oct
Wed 21 Oct
Thu 22 Oct
Fri 23 Oct
Sat 24 Oct
Sun 25 Oct
Mon 26 Oct

  • Adult$119.00
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$83.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$71.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$78.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$95.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$99.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$78.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$71.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$78.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

Bookings close in 8 hours...

  • Adult$95.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$95.00
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$83.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$99.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$78.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$95.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$119.00
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$119.00
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$78.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$83.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$99.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$78.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$71.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

  • Adult$78.00 Less than 6 at this price!
  • Child$99.00
  • Family$359.00

Authenticated Reviews & PhotosAll of our reviews are from people who have booked and paid for this activity thru Bookme

Authenticated Reviews & PhotosAll of our reviews are from people who have booked and paid for this activity thru Bookme

4.4

171 reviews

Showing all 171 authenticated Bookme reviews

Swathi Reddy from New Zealand wrote on 04 September 2026

Good

It was very good experience

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sangbom from South Korea wrote on 02 September 2026

Nice Guide

I had such a wonderful experience with my guide! Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t good enough for the tour, so I received a full refund. Even though the tour couldn’t go ahead as planned, my guide still did his very best to make the experience enjoyable and meaningful. He was incredibly kind, friendly, and genuinely cared about making sure I had a good experience. We also had a really nice conversation, which made the whole experience even more memorable. I really appreciated his kindness and effort, especially considering the difficult weather conditions. Even though I couldn’t experience the tour as planned, I left with a very positive memory thanks to him. Thank you so much for everything! I would definitely recommend this tour and especially this wonderful guide to anyone visiting Lake Tekapo.

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Rubbel Sharma from New Zealand wrote on 19 July 2026

Great

Great experience and awesome guide. Highly Recommend

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Jo from New Zealand wrote on 07 August 2026

Could do better!

A warm coat provided which was welcome. The guide was fairly new to the job and didn't have the best grasp of 1) English and 2) the sky. More learning required for both aspects. Check out the seatbelts on the bus and make sure they are in good working order, don't just tell people to hold onto something - think public liability. Chairs not suitable for stargazing. I had a sore neck the next day. Need a better way of lighting the path from the bus to the telescope area. Could be hazardous for older people. Overall, not that impressed. Glad I didn't pay full price, am struggling to justify discounted amount as it is. Need to do much better with the experience you provide.

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Tracy Yu from Hong Kong SAR China wrote on 03 December 2025

Not for the nerds

I wish I can give more stars for the responsive staff and friendly tour guide, but the experience is just a little underwhelming to me. It could be a memorable experience for someone who has never done any stargazing, but if you have some basic knowledge, you probably can’t take much out of the tour. We saw three objects through the telescope tonight (Orion nebula, Saturn and the moon) and the rest is mostly naked eye stargazing on constellations which are often visible in the northern hemisphere as well all year round. I was hoping the tour would put more focus on southern hemisphere specific objects but it only covers the southern cross and pointer stars, which again, if you know it already, you may prefer time spent on other objects instead. There were scattered clouds and almost a full moon on the night, so condition was not the best. I understand that it is in the guest’s best interest to talk about prominent objects we can see, which are Orion, Canis Major, southern cross, perhaps it is just not the right tour for me. Bottom line: if you are a nerd, this may not be for you. If you have absolutely no stargazing experience, you will have a good time. Suggestion: if there is a tour focus on southern night sky for people who have done fair amount of stargazing in the north, that would be perfect.

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When you see the Qualmark logo, your activity of choice is endorsed by New Zealand Tourism's official quality assurance organisation and backed by leaders in the industry. It's your trusted guide to iconic activities and experiences that are awarded for their exceptionally high level of quality, safety and sustainability.

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