Silver River Stargazing & Astrophotography Tours / Lake Tekapo Farm Tours

Established in 2018 and owned by a local Tekapo family, Silver River™ is an affordable, community-minded business that offers authentic Kiwi experiences in our own backyard. Our tours were developed to ensure that our adventures are comfortable, exciting and affordable for all regardless of their budget.

We are proud to be a Living Wage Employer and the Mackenzie Region’s first accredited tourism operator to pay the living wage to our employees.

Under the Silver River™ banner is Silver River Stargazing, Silver River Astrophotography, Lake Tekapo Farm Tours & Isolation Bay Luxury Accommodation.

Our experiences are located on 50,000 acres of farmland, all of which fall within the boundaries of the gold-rated Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve...aka some of the darkest skies in the world. We have little to no light pollution and are committed to leaving the lightest footprint on our land and night sky.

Silver River™ Stargazing is Tekapo’s leading small group 360° stargazing tour.  Our ratio of telescopes to guests is tiny; one of the lowest in the Tekapo region, allowing our customers to feel like they are on a private and more personable tour and giving guests plenty of time on the telescopes and with their astronomy guide.

We use powerful 14” telescopes and special Astro-lasers for easy naked-eye viewing on this 1.5-hour stargazing experience. Tours are run in English.

After we have taken you on a journey through our night sky, your guide will take a photo of your group under the stars, capturing that picture-perfect moment. Guests will be sent a link so they can download a digital copy of that image free of charge. 

Have kids? GREAT. We are super passionate about showing the night sky to the kiddos (any age can join our tours, even infants).

We will transport you to and from our office which is located next door to Peppers Bluewater Resort in Tekapo township and the stargazing / astrophotography sites which are 5-15 minutes away. 

Silver River™ Astrophotography Experience

Are your guests looking for the ultimate astrophotography experience?  

Learn how to take jaw dropping pictures on this exclusive (we're talking only four people per tour!) 3.5-hour experience. You can use our telescopes and DSLR camera's or bring your own camera and equipment along and if we can use it we definitely will.

Tours will be customised depending on the weather conditions and what guests want to learn. This could include wide-angle imagery of the scenery and night sky, imagery of the Milky Way or constellations, capturing star trails or night time-lapse animations.  We will then help guests process those images post-capture! This tour is pure magic if you are wanting to learn or extend your astrophotography skills.

The location of our astrophotography site is perfect, offering pure darkness and incredible 360° v