In the heart of the South Island there is a plateau called the MacKensy basin, almost in the centre of this is Lake Tekapo, with practically no light polution and the surrounding mountains keeping the clouds at bay. This area gets the most consistently clear nights in New Zealand. These conditions make this place the ideal location for an observatory, partly sponsered by the Japanise the 7million dollar telescope is the most advanced astronomic resaerch facillity the kiwi's have, so a little better than bog roll 2 lenses and some sticky back plastic. Along with several other smaller telescopes, all this set up on Mount John only 4km away from the very small town of Tekapo. I went to the observatory on a night tour and during the day, to get the pic's I have posted here. The views as incredible, this basin was also used in the filming of 'Lord of the rings'. If you look closley at the video clip, tilt your head to one side and squint you may be lucky enough to see Gandalf charging around on Shadofax weilding a beer.
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