We had the best night with Al and Twinkle Dark Sky Tours. They really have a great setup with comfy chairs, hot water bottles, wool blankets, binoculars and hot chocolate. This was a highlight of our time on Stewart Island and a must do if you have clear skies. Al was wonderful to work with, he called us to confirm right when he said he'd call, he was really professional and even offered to pick us up if we didn't have a car. The whole thing was educational, enjoyable, mesmerizing, awe-inspiring and if you're from the Northern Hemisphere you have to do it because you'll see things you'll never see in the north. Al is a veritable treasure-trove of knowledge about the night sky. You're in for a real treat.

Our minds were totally blown with seeing Saturn, its Rings , and its largest moon Titan (the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere!). We also saw Jupiter and its moons Ganymede and Europa! Europa and Ganymede have liquid oceans under an icy crust and Ganymede is also the largest moon in the solar system - larger than the planet Mercury (which we also saw!).

There was also Matariki/Pleiades/Subaru, the planet Mars, the International Space Station, the Orion and Tarantula nebulae, and, my personal favorite, the Wishing Well cluster, plus the famous the Southern Cross (I love the CSNY song), the Coalsack nebula, the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, the Milky Way and of course the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Plus, an Aurora Australis appeared at the end as well (photo attached).

It was incredible that we got to see these objects on such a calm pleasant night with the birds calling in the distance as well. I was delighted we managed go on a tour after the weather prevented us from doing so on Wednesday night! Highly recommend! It was worth every penny and then some!

Awesome experience, loved getting to see and hear all about the night sky, looking through the telescope was particularly cool