We left Twizel in brilliant sunshine and within minutes found ourselves driving through freezing fog. It is truly amazing what happens to trees and shrubs in a hoar frost. Trees become ghostly and other worldly. We were back in Lake Tekapo so that I could visit the Dark Sky Project. Situated at the top of Mt. John, this project gives you the opportunity to have the stars explained, as well as the chance to look through extremely powerful telescopes back in time to star clusters and nebulas that are millions or billions of years old. I have to say, it really does make you realise just how fleeting our time here on Earth is and just how small we really are. We went back the following day to see the view from the top in daylight. It didn’t disappoint. Just breath-taking. We also had a drive around to Lake Alexandrina, a gorgeous lake that sparkles in the light.

I have been trying to take photos of the night sky for a while now, initially with the camera on my mobile, through a pair of binoculars but more recently on my “proper” camera. As you can see in the photo on the left below, I have yet to find success. What I have been able to do, is have some really great help and advice from a New Zealand photographer who I discovered on Facebook – Kiwi Photographer. With his help & suggestions, I am trying to hone my skills! On the night I went up to the top of Mt. John, the sky was so clear and the Milky Way was just glorious. I set up my tripod and camera with the aim of taking a shot by the Church of the Good Shepherd. Now, just for information, I have long been against using software to tweek my photos. Yes I have used filters but nothing more than that. Kiwi Photographer has shown me just what a difference using editing software can make. So whilst I can take credit for the actual composition of this photo, I have to say a huge THANK YOU and give credit to Kiwi Photographer for the final image you see here.