For two decades, the Dark Sky Project in Takapō has drawn visitors from around the world to its pristine night skies. But beyond the telescopes and tours lies a deeper kaupapa: reconnecting Māori with ancestral star lore and reviving a legacy written in the sky.
Set in the Aoraki Mackenzie Basin, known to mana whenua as Te Manahuna, the region offers some of the clearest skies in the world. Here, celestial science and cultural revival converge atop the ancestral mountain of Ōtehīwāi (Mount John).
Victoria Campbell (Ngāi Tahu), General Manager of the Dark Sky Project and one of Aotearoa’s leading Māori astronomers, says the experience is about more than science.
“For us, as Kaitahu, being able to share our narratives and our whakapapa is amazing. The cool thing about the universe [is] we can all find a connection to it,” says Campbell.
A Celestial Gateway
Te Manahuna has long been a seasonal hub for Ngāi Tahu, a place for mahinga kai, trade, and whānau journeys across Te Waipounamu. But it also holds a lesser-known legacy preserved in the night sky.
David Higgins, Ūpoko of Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, explains how whakapapa and mātauranga were once transferred into the stars: “That pūrākau, that mātauraka was held up there in the stars until our people arrived in this huge land, and what they did then was, they re-transferred those pūrākau to the whenua here.”
In 2016, Ngāi Tahu Tourism entered into a 50/50 partnership with Earth & Sky (now Dark Sky Project), embedding Te Ao Māori perspectives into the visitor experience. Once confined to whānau and iwi narratives, these stories now feature in immersive tours and digital domes, delivered in both English and te reo Māori.
Campbell says this is more than inclusion; it’s reclamation.
“There’s a strong connection to mahika kai and to our tuna practice, but also how the seasons were connected to the activities of our whetū, and how our tūpuna were able to apply that understanding in their agricultural practices.”
Building a Park in the Sky
The vision began with co-founders Hide Ozawa and Graeme Murray. Ozawa, originally from Japan, was awed by the southern night sky.
“If we had a sky like this in Japan, we’d build a park to protect it,” he told Murray.
“So that’s what we set out to do, to build a park in the sky,” Murray recalls.
In 2012, their vision became reality. The Aoraki Mackenzie region was designated an International Dark Sky Reserve and became the first to receive Gold Tier status. UNESCO recognition followed, establishing it as the world’s first World Heritage Park in the Sky.
“The centre of the Milky Way, it goes straight above on the east, and it’s wide up there and tapering to both horizons. That never happens in the northern hemisphere; only this latitude makes it happen,” says Ozawa.
Story, Science, Reo
With more than 48,000 visitors expected this year alone, the Dark Sky Project has become more than a destination. It’s a platform for indigenous science, te reo Māori, and intergenerational knowledge.
Tour guide Liam Hickman says people arrive for the stars but leave with stories. “A lot of people come looking for the stories about Matariki, and of Māui’s hook,” he says.
Visitors agree. “I was amazed by all the stars you can see,” says one tourist.
Another, from Mexico, reflects: “Here in New Zealand, they really care about nature and its conservation. That’s why I’d like to keep it like this to see the sky and the land together.”
A Legacy That Lives
For Campbell, this is just the beginning. She sees the project as a launchpad for more Māori to enter astronomy, conservation, guiding, and research.
“We already have those values manaakitaka, kaitiakitaka, we’re just applying them in a new area,” she says. “And our people will thrive in this space.”
Tamariki and rangatahi leave inspired. Some return to study science. Many simply return to see the stars again, this time, with new eyes.
