Eye to the Sky (Canterbury) Traditional Cache

This is a popular place with muggles so you will need to be careful at all times, the top of Mt John can be busy at all hours of the day. Please respect the times that the mountain top is open to the public. This cache is only able to be found during daylight hours

UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY MT JOHN OBSERVATORY

The Mt John Observatory was opened by the University of Canterbury in 1965 as a joint venture with the University of Pennsylvania. In 1969 the US Air Force built a satellite tracking station to monitor US and Soviet satellites. In 1983 the US Air Force left Mt John and the facility that was built was incorporated into the observatory. From there on the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Canterbury have been the sole operators until 2004.

AORAKI MACKENZIE INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY RESERVE

In June 2012 the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) designated the region as the world’s largest certified international dark sky reserve; one of only 2 gold tier reserves in the world. This means that the night sky in the region is one of the best places worldwide to observe the stars.

Please respect the opening hours of the observatory as it is closed to the general public after certain hours.