Moana Skies

12/06/2026

How cool! ✨🔭❤️

10/06/2026

A beautiful winter evening over Kaikōura 🌌

This photo taken before tonight’s tour, captures two of the brightest objects currently lighting up our evening skies – Venus and Jupiter. Venus is the brilliant beacon sitting low above the horizon, while Jupiter shines just above it.

If you look carefully to the left of the image, you'll also spot a Starlink satellite train making its way across the sky. While not quite as ancient as the planets above, it's a fascinating reminder of how much our view of the night sky continues to evolve.

Moments like this are why we never get tired of looking up. ✨

📍 Kaikoura NZ, New Zealand

04/06/2026

We've been a little quieter on social media lately, but it's certainly not because we've been sitting still!

The last few weeks have brought some pretty challenging weather, so while the clouds have been hanging around, we've been busy behind the scenes working on new experiences, partnerships, events, and plans for the months ahead. 🥳

The good news? The skies are finally starting to clear into next week, That means we're back out under the stars, running our nightly stargazing experiences and welcoming visitors into the Moana Skies Astro Centre. Whether you're joining us for a tour, popping in to learn something new, trying our VR experiences, or taking a look at the Sun through our solar telescopes, we'd love to see you. ❤️

Winter often brings some of Kaikōura's clearest and darkest nights of the year, and there's plenty happening in the sky right now. If you've been meaning to visit, now's the perfect time.

📍 Moana Skies Astro Centre
🌞 Solar viewing, VR experiences & astronomy displays
🌌 Nightly stargazing tours (weather permitting)

✨ Where the mountains, sea and stars collide. ✨

30/05/2026

✨ You're Invited to Matariki Morning ✨

One of the things we love most about Matariki is that it's for everyone… Whether you've lived in Kaikōura your whole life, have just moved here, know everything about the stars, or absolutely nothing at all, we'd love to see you down at Wakatu Quay on Friday morning as we welcome in the Māori New Year together. ❤️

There'll be bonfires to you keep warm, bacon sandwiches, tea, coffee and hot chocolates, telescopes set up to view Matariki, VR experiences for the kids (and adults!), and plenty of opportunities to learn a little more about the stars above us and the meaning behind Matariki. 🔭

No speeches you'll be forced to sit through. No pressure. Just a relaxed morning by the waterfront with good people, good conversation, warm drinks and hopefully a beautiful sunrise.

The event is completely free, although donations to the Kaikōura Dark Sky Trust are always appreciated.

📍 Wakatu Quay
🗓 Friday 10 July
⏰ 6:30am – 8:30am

Bring the kids. Bring the grandparents. Bring a mate. Or bring yourself. We'll have a hot drink waiting. ☕

Mānawatia a Matariki. ⭐️

27/05/2026

22/05/2026

✨ A quick winter update from us ✨

Firstly, a huge apology for how inconsistent our Astronomy Centre opening hours have been over the last month. It’s been a massive few weeks behind the scenes and, honestly, we’ve sometimes been a little slack at keeping our hours updated properly. We know that’s frustrating for those wanting to visit, so thank you for your patience while we navigate a busy transition into winter. ❤️

As we head into the quieter season, our winter hours will now be:

Thursday – Sunday
1pm – 5pm

The centre will still feature solar viewing on clear days, VR experiences, astronomy exhibits, kids activities, books, gifts and plenty of room to come chat all things space with us. 🌌

Thanks again for sticking with us — winter skies are here, and they’re pretty spectacular. 🤩

19/05/2026

Another unreal evening under the Kaikōura skies ✨

Last night we were back out at Mangamaunu Retreat for a private stargazing experience and honestly… nights like this never get old. The ocean below, the mountains behind us and the Milky Way stretching right across the sky — it’s hard to explain just how special this part of the world really is until you see it for yourself. ❤️

We were also lucky enough to have Kyle and Lisa from Bare Kiwi along capturing the magic of the experience, always awesome seeing you both and I’m glad you got to join us. 🔭

If you’re staying with Mangamaunu Retreat, private stargazing experiences can be arranged during your stay — just enquire when booking accommodation. Or if you’re booking a private experience with us at Moana Skies, ask us about accommodation options with Mangamaunu Retreat as well.

Pretty lucky to call Kaikoura NZ home 🌌

15/05/2026

It’s so incredible to have this year’s Matariki Train feature in the The New York Times.
We can wait! 🔭✨❤️

On nighttime excursions in dark-sky hot spots like Norway, New Zealand and Nevada, all you have to do is relax and look up. The stars will do the rest.

15/05/2026

❗️Calling all photographers, adventurers, stargazers, creatives, and anyone who’s ever looked up in awe… it’s time for Kaikōura to represent on the world stage.❗️

DarkSky International’s global astrophotography competition, Capture the Dark 2026, is now officially OPEN — and this year’s contest is bigger than ever, featuring nine categories ranging from epic nightscapes and deep space imagery to nocturnal wildlife, responsible lighting, and the brand new “Nighttime Adventure Photography” category. Best of all? It’s completely free to enter and open to all experience levels.

Here in Kaikōura, we’re lucky enough to live beneath some of the most spectacular night skies on Earth. From the mountains meeting the sea, to our Milky Way reflections, auroras, moonrises, wildlife, astro landscapes, and the incredible work already being produced by local photographers — this region deserves to be seen. 📸

Whether you shoot with a professional camera, a beginner setup, or even your phone, this is your chance to showcase the beauty of our nights to the world while helping tell the story of why dark skies matter.

📅 Entries are open NOW and close June 30, 2026, with winners announced in mid-August.

The competition also strongly promotes responsible astrophotography and protecting the night from increasing light pollution — something incredibly close to home for us here in Kaikōura.

We would absolutely LOVE to see photographers from Kaikōura and across New Zealand submit entries this year. Let’s show the world what our skies look like. ❤️

Tag us if you enter — we genuinely want to follow along and support local submissions. 🌌📸