Naseby Dark Sky Community

Naseby is a small former gold-mining town of around 150 residents in New Zealand's Central Otago region, and in 2025 it became the country's first International Dark Sky Community.

Why Naseby is a top stargazing spot

Naseby's dark-sky status did not happen by accident. It was a decade in the making: community discussions began in 2016, the local council adopted Plan Change 22 in October 2024 to formally protect the town's outdoor lighting standards, and DarkSky International signed off on the designation in 2025 after night-sky-quality surveys confirmed the results. That makes Naseby only the third Dark Sky Community in the Southern Hemisphere, following Niue and Carrickalinga in South Australia.

What you can see

With minimal artificial light around the town, Naseby's night sky reveals the full sweep of the Milky Way overhead. On clear nights the Aurora Australis, the southern lights, can be seen with the naked eye from town, a rare treat for a stargazing destination that does not require a special expedition further south.

Visiting Naseby at night

Naseby sits inland in Central Otago, a region already known for clear, dry weather that favours stargazing throughout the year. Because the dark-sky protections are community-wide rather than tied to a single park boundary, visitors can simply walk the town's streets after dark rather than seeking out one official viewing point. The town is also known for its winter sports: curling, ice skating and luge are all within a 500-metre walk of the centre, along with a café, a store and a historic pub, making it easy to combine a day on the ice with a night under the stars. For overnight stays, options include Naseby Holiday Cottages (studio and three-bedroom units, plus the Schoolhouse and a self-contained batch), Naseby Apartments and Lodge (a mix of one and two-bedroom units with Wi-Fi and smart TVs), and the family- and dog-friendly Naseby Holiday Park. Check the local Central Otago Naseby Dark Sky website before you travel for guidance or events.

Best time to go

South of the equator, the Milky Way's core rides high overhead through the southern autumn and winter into spring, roughly February to October, which lines up well with Naseby's curling and ice season for a combined winter trip. The Geminids meteor shower, peaking in mid-December, and the Eta Aquariids in May are both well placed for southern-hemisphere viewing. As always, choose a night within a few days of the new Moon, give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adapt to the dark, and use red light rather than white to keep that adaptation intact.

Getting there

Naseby is an inland town in the Maniototo area of Central Otago, on New Zealand's South Island. Check the Central Otago Naseby Dark Sky website for current road access and event details before setting out.

See your named star from here

A community dark sky like Naseby's cuts through the light pollution that hides all but the brightest stars over most towns, so a star named through star-register.eu becomes far easier to pick out here than it would be at home. Bring your certificate's coordinates and a stargazing app, follow our guide to finding a star in the night sky, and use Naseby's dark, low-light streets to find your star in the sky. Browse our star catalogue or see our naming packages to get started, and check our observatories directory for other certified dark-sky sites nearby.