|
|
| *Travel Tips>>>General - Australia & New Zealand Travel Tips |
Where is a fun/good place to see the southern lights in New Zealand? |
Travel Info Also, are there specific dates throughout the year with a higher percentage of seeing the southern lights? I plan on going during summer. Travel Tips I'm not sure about the dates, but the sourthern most place in NZ is Stewart Island, which is also one of my favorite spots in NZ. It's got a great pub, is 90% Nat. Park, and filled with birds. There are kiwi tours here, if you feel like trying to see one. The island's population is about 400, and has a great fishing community. Source(s): Spent a week there is 2005 Other Travel Tips The aurora follows an 11-year cycle; 2001 was a good year to see them. 2007 isn't very good, anywhere in the world. They'll steadily become more frequent and more spectacular between now and 2012. The best place in NZ to see them is Stewart Island. The Maori name for it, Rakiura, means something like glowing skies. But the best location of all is close to the South Magnetic Pole, which is near the coast of Antarctica south of Australia. I saw a brilliant display at Scott Base in 1973. That's due south of NZ and about 700 km. from the magnetic pole. I've also seen good displays in the far south of the South Island. There's no particular time of year that's a good time to see them; it's an 11 year cycle which depends on processes in the Sun. I've lived in Christchurch, New Zealand for a while and never heard of them here. It must be lower latitude than this. There are two conditions that must be met to be able to see the Aurora australis. 1. As Zee Prime has pointed it, it depends on the cycle of the sun and related sunspot activity. 2. Artificial light (city lights) creates light polution that blots out the ability to see an aurora. Having said that, I have seen a powerful aurora in Rotorua inspite of all the light pollution. Provided the sky is dark, you should be able to see an aurora in almost any part of the country, but the further south, the better. Driver T |
| Tags |
| Melbourne Perth Queenstown Sydney Wellington General - Australia & New Zealand China Indonesia Japan Korea Malaysia |
Travel Info Categories--Copyright/IP Policy--Contact Webmaster |