CELESTIAL BODIES
Astro tourism is on the rise, with more people looking for the opportunity to gaze at the stars.
According to research by the Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute, 80 per cent of Earth’s land mass suffers from light pollution, and in Europe and the USA 99 per cent of the night sky is obscured by artificial lighting. Considering this, astrotourism is becoming one of the fastest growing tourism trends of 2019. Designated darksky places – which are certified by the International Dark-Sky Association – are the best places to see the sky free from light pollution. One such place is Japan’s Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park in Okinawa Prefecture. Covering the Yaeyama Islands off Japan’s coast, this national park provides the best stargazing in the country. You can travel to Central Asia or Mongolia, too – staying in your very own yurt surrounded by impressive night skies. Or if you’d rather sleep outside, try Botswana’s ‘sky beds’ and ‘star baths’, on open-air decks at Sanctuary Baine’s Camp. The open sea is also a fantastic place for stargazing – the Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten runs a unique astronomy cruise that travels the length of the Norwegian coast, from Bergen to beyond the Arctic Circle, and includes onboard lectures.
Closer to home and a six-hour drive from Sydney, the town of Forbes in country New South Wales is the home of agritourism and the hub of ‘grazing and gazing’ experiences. Here you learn about local folklore and the Indigenous Seven Sisters Dreaming Story – which tells how seven young women, known as the Mulaynynang in Wiradjuri language, leapt into the sky to become the star cluster we now know as the Pleiades. Storytelling and folklore go hand in hand when staring at the night sky. Tekapo Star Gazing, in the South Island, focuses on the legend and mythology attributed to celestial objects by Māori and other cultures as you float in a 38°C hot pool at Tekapo Springs. Relaxing as you take in the clear night skies never felt so good.