By Alistair Child
Fiordlands night sky
When I first came to Fiordland I came by sea and at night, traveling from the southern port of Bluff, west around to bottom of the Fiordland coast and north heading for Dusky Sound. Nothing in my life so far had prepared me for this. There was no moon in the sky, just this black void laden with stars from one horizon to the other. The stars abruptly stopped on our eastern side where the fiordland mountains cut across the sky like some crazy sword.
This was of-cause the fiordland night sky. It was like a protective velvet blanket with its immense number of stars, the number of which I had never seen before.
I later learned a little more about Fiordland's night sky, and there was a simple explanation. Almost all fiordland weather comes from the west. These weather systems bring the air we breath and look through also from the west. West of Fiordland there is nothing for thousands of miles except the southern ocean. That air has traveled across this vast sea being cleaned and purified by the sea itself. The end result it is the air is very clear. Also there are no towns in Fiordland, very few people and no light pollution.
In my time in Fiordland I have spent many a night under the stars. It has brought me a feeling of protection and a sense of self. When you visit Fiordland, perhaps after dinner on a clear night, take a walk outside away from the light, take a deep breath and look up.
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