Beneath a starry, starry night sky
Back-country New Zealand offers the tranquillity of nature on the ground, and in the sky, writes Esther Ashby-Coventry.
Imagine sitting in a hot tub looking up at clouds back-lit by the moon, with the stars glistening beyond. You are surrounded by wilderness, stillness and silence. There are kilometres of nothing but tussock and mountains in every direction. Your thoughts are the only disturbance. This is Skyscape in the heart of the magnificent Mackenzie Country.
The place
Set on almost 2500 hectares of hill country, 12 kilometres northeast of Twizel, Skyscape is the ultimate in classy sky-watching accommodation.
It is in the process of expanding from one independent lodge to three.
The first precast concrete and wood lodge, blending perfectly with its surroundings, opened in 2017. It offers a luxury, child-free, one-bedroom unit, and is designed so windows along some of the walls give an unhindered 270-degree panorama from the Benmore and Two Thumb ranges to the Southern Alps and Ben O¯ hau.
The piece de resistance is a glass roof, which allows guests to lie comfortably in the king-size bed while night or day sky watching.
Primary school teachers Bevan and Bridget Newlands, both South Islanders, created this wonder after many hours of brainstorming and sketching. Bridget’s parents, Elaine and Mike Lindsay, own the Omahau Hill land that Skyscape is nestled on, and still farm sheep and cattle there.
After a few years working in Kenya, the Newlands could see how the Mackenzie backcountry views, similar to the savanna grasslands, had tourism potential.
Bridget is one of three daughters and none of them want to take on the farm, so the Newlands considered a variety of ideas, including a hole in the ground with backpackers using Perspex as shelter. ‘‘The idea grew and grew,’’ Bridget says.
With a vision of high-end astro-tourism in the Aoraki International Dark Sky Reserve, building started in 2016. In an unexpected twist they had issues with the lodge being too hot, and had to turn underfloor heating into underfloor cooling as the concrete absorbed too much heat for the climate and design of the building, rising to an unpleasant 50-60 degrees Celsius. The windows with an insulation coating had to be reversed so the coating was facing outwards to keep the heat out.
‘‘That was the biggest achievement. We almost stopped opening for summer. We had to think outside the square,’’ Bevan said. Now the lodge is thermostatically controlled. Windows and air vents open automatically, and underfloor cold water pipes moderate the temperature.
The space
The design of the building has three angles of raked windows reflecting the shape of one of the hills that can be seen from the lodge, The Pyramids. A courtyard wall that the couple made from rocks collected from the land runs outside on the patio in front of the hot tub and inside to support the glass front wall. ‘‘It was like fitting a giant jigsaw together,’’ Bridget says.
Under the cover of a wild grass roof are the modern kitchenette and bathroom. The kitchen contains a kettle, toaster, double gas hob, and small fridge. Basic utensils are also available but there is no microwave or oven. The bathroom shower has decent water pressure and, beside it on the wall, a ladder-style heated towel rack.
For obvious reasons there is no TV, but there is free wi-fi.
An oak table and chairs on polished concrete floors are all the seating there is in the lodge. Outside on the patio are two Cape Cod Chairs, and the 400-litre cedar hot tub, which takes about 30 minutes to fill.
The two new lodges will be 250 metres and 450 metres away from the original, so privacy is not compromised.
More musings
One thing I wish I had done before staying there was to learn how to capture the stunning night sky on my iPhone camera. Unfortunately, I only ended up with grainy pictures, which do an embarrassing injustice to the majestic images of the breathtaking night sky. There was also no need to leave once checked in, every moment was to be delighted in.
From the evolving shadows on the ranges to the clouds silently skating and morphing into shapes across the sky during the day, and the glimmering stars at night, this was one stay I will not forget.
The verdict
It was a memorable wilderness experience in indulgent comfort, which did not require hours of tramping or climbing, just a 15-minute drive from the Twizel shops. The tranquillity and solitude was second to none as nature put on its incredible show. Waking up with sun peering through the windows after a late night of binge-watching the solar system, was a surprising treat.
I suspect most Kiwis not in the top wage bracket will balk at the high overnight price tag but having a hot tub you don’t have to share with strangers, a view of the lunar landscape without having to jostle for position, and upmarket accommodation puts it in context.
For many people like me, this would be for a one-off special occasion.
The essentials
One night in the lodge for a couple costs $700 in summer and $600 in winter. A continental breakfast is included, and an evening meal of an antipasto platter with local smoked salmon and cheese ($85), or green salad with salmon ($65), can be purchased. Farm tours and a 4WD trip to the top of the hill can also be arranged. See skyscape.co.nz.
The writer stayed as a guest of Skyscape.