Tāhuna Glenorchy becomes the 23rd International Dark Sky Sanctuary

Date: 2nd February 2025

Stars Align for Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary

The Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary was announced today by Dark Sky International making it the fourth Dark Sky Sanctuary in New Zealand and 23rd worldwide.

Located in New Zealand’s astronomical sweet spot on the 45th parallel and within an hour’s drive of Queenstown, it will be one of the rare places on the planet to see the Total Solar Eclipse in 2028 and the only designated Dark Sky Sanctuary in its path.

Located at the head of Lake Whakatipu and encompassing 200,000 hectares stretching from Bennett’s Bluff to the northern boundary of Mt Aspiring National Park and bounded by the Humbolt and Richardson mountains, over 75% of the Sanctuary falls into UNESCO Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Wilderness. The Routeburn, Greenstone-Caples and Rees-Dart tracks all fall within its limits. The Sanctuary surrounds the townships of Glenorchy and Kinloch and in the coming year, they will be brought into the Dark Sky Places program as a Dark Sky Community in an approach similar to Kaikoura.

The Dark Sky Sanctuary above will reflect the Conservation Sanctuary below

Coupled with the extensive conservation work taking place in the same area, the Dark Sky Sanctuary above will reflect the existing conservation sanctuary below for the first time.

This will provide a rare haven for those who want to do the Great Walks during the day, encounter a newly released takahē at dusk, and lay out under the Milky Way at night to marvel at the night skies from the shore of one of the deepest lakes in New Zealand, look out from the comfort of Glenorchy’s range of accommodation, or see the stars from atop snowy mountain peaks.

One of the Sanctuary’s key aims is to engage with Kāi Tahu (Ngāi Tahu) to improve everyone’s understanding of Mātauraka Kāi Tahu and to come to understand the knowledge that is held in the planets and the stars that have helped guide countless previous generations.

Tāhuna Glenorchy the first inland sanctuary of its kind.

Queenstown Lakes is a big tourism destination, and we need to encourage a slower, regenerative form of visitation – we’re looking forward to welcoming future astro- tourists to stay longer, tread lightly and enjoy the wonder of our night skies.”

Thanks must go to the tremendous efforts of the team involved in making this happen. This milestone marks the creation of the first inland sanctuary of its kind, a significant accomplishment for all those who have contributed.”

“We’ve had an amazing group from the community who’ve worked on this project for the last 5 years,” says Chair Dr. Leslie Van Gelder, “While none of us knew anything about astronomy at the start, our team of 12 spanning three generations, have upskilled in brilliant ways learning about lighting, moths and bats, staying up late measuring darkness, holding community events and the annual Matariki dinner, going to star courses, and partnering in with the QLDC Libraries and Tūhuru Otago Museum for talks and educational programs for the whole community. Glenorchy got in behind us and we’ve had huge support all the way through. It has truly taken a village and it’s all just beginning for us.”

The group has also been funded through LoveQT to work with the Southern Lakes Sanctuary to do a study in the Rees Valley looking for the elusive short-tailed bat while also developing a bat monitoring program within the township to match their dark sky measurement program.

The Department of Conservation’s support has been integral to the project, with hut rangers helping take dark sky readings in remote parts of the Sanctuary.

David Butt, Pou Matarautaki Operations Manager – Whakatipu-wai-Māori, Te Papa Atawhai Department of Conservation said, “DOC was excited to support the application of the Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary and our hut rangers played an important role in taking the necessary light readings in difficult to access areas. The Department of Conversation manages a large part of the new sanctuary, with Mt Aspiring National Park straddling the spectacular mountains and valleys at the southern end of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana – renowned for its exceptional beauty and large core of wilderness. The new designation will further protect these values into the future”.

https://darksky.org/https://darksky.org/

Posted in: News / Blog