Star Safari - more than stargazing

Stargaze with the best equipment for public viewing in Wairarapa - our 16" telescopes have fantastic eyepieces that reveal the Universe in an immersive, unforgettable experience. What's best is that kids 15 and younger are free because we want them to get inspired by this experience and appreciate the marvellous world we are part of.

We stargaze from the Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve, the world's 21st International Dark Sky Reserve. We have ten telescopes on rotation and use at least 3 for a session - definitely the 16"s.

We are Hari and Sam, an astrobiologist and an astrophysicist. With us, you will learn about science. We show you what we are made of, how stars are formed, how they die and what happens afterwards. Hari is a TEDx featured speaker, NASA intern and Planetary Protection lecturer, and Sam is a former pilot and also an astrophotographer. We are space science communicators.

At Star Safari, when it is cloudy, we have a special e-astronomy programme where we use professional planetarium software to talk about the latest in the sky and where things are, and you also get to immerse yourself in the Cosmos through VR.

Hari is also the Creative Producer and concept lead of the planetarium movie The Navigators. At Star Safari Observatory, we contribute data for science through the Fireball Aotearoa Programme with our meteor camera. We also have a Dark Sky meter that's how we know our sky is really dark. When we don't do stargazing, we teach in schools about space and astronomy through our programme called Spacewardbound New Zealand.

Wanna see a shooting star? You might see under our fabulous sky. Last but not least, we planted a Moon Garden - come and learn all about it.

Bring your kids, questions and cameras if you wish to do some astrophotography. Oh, and did we mention the hot chocolate or tea to unwind afterwards?
We look forward to seeing you at Star Safari.
Hari and Sam