We’re staying put in Tekapo for one more night, so we had the chance to get to know the area a bit more. After a hearty breakfast in town at The Greedy Cow (our last meal with Alison), we went for another stroll in the lakeshore park. It’s hard to capture the atmosphere here — the natural beauty seems particularly intense, almost spiritual. And then there’s the occasional odd sight, like a T. Rex strolling through the lupins.

One of the attractions in town is the Dark Sky Project, named after the initiative to control light pollution in the region. We took their tour, which is mostly a photography-free zone with the exceptions shown below. The first is a room where they have glowing scale models of the Sun, Alpha Centauri A and B, and a generic red giant star. We were invited to put our hands on them so that we could feel and hear the characteristic vibrations of each one (produced courtesy of computational modeling of their insides). The last stop on the tour was a demonstration of the historic Brashear Telescope, the actual device used by Percival Lowell in his observations of Mars in the late 1800s. Picture the astronomical telescope of the popular imagination sitting inside a dome: this is that instrument in the flesh (well, metal anyway). It was moved to New Zealand when light pollution around its U.S. home grew too strong. Unfortunately, they never found the funding to build a dome for it so it just sat in storage for a half century. Nowadays a modern reflecting telescope works just as well at a fraction of the cost, so this behemoth has become a museum piece. At least in that context, they were finally able to find the money to put it inside a proper dome again!

For the afternoon, we decided to hike to the observatory at the top of Mount John just on the edge of town. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and the path made switchbacks through a pine forest to climb the hill. At the top, the terrain was open and we had unlimited 360 degree views: the Southern Alps in the distant west, Lake Tekapo to the east and north, and the Mackenzie Plain to the south. A number of people were posing for photographs on a convenient rock, so Susannah took a turn. You can see Tekapo in the background, with the lakefront park we had explored in the morning just behind her shoulder.

Back down the hill, we made our way back to the Church of the Good Shepherd, where they were holding a service of participatory singing that was open to all. We could not resist the chance for a spiritual moment in this beautiful building. The music was mostly unfamiliar to us, but we enjoyed it all the same, and felt welcomed by the others who were there. And we taught the round Dona Nobis Pacem to the other congregants when it was our turn to share something.

We do have one more star-related event today, but since it won’t start until after midnight we’re going to close this entry here and save the rest for tomorrow.