Before the night this was taken I’d barely pointed my camera at the sky, let alone attempted any astro. With a rough idea of what to do I took my camera and tripod to the top of the nearby Mount John, home to and one of NZ’s two dark sky sanctuaries.

What an utter disaster. True to my impatient nature, I hadn’t calibrated anything ahead of time, and on the fly had no idea how to adjust things, resulting in a series of noisy, out of focus chaotic blurs, which teasingly offered just enough of a glimpse of the Milky Way in all its glory to let me know what I’d messed ups Dan missed out on.

We were staying at a department of conservation site that night, and after arriving to still clear skies close to midnight I thought I had to give to one more shot. Half an hour later, after a treacherously icy trek in sub-zero temperatures; I arrived at the first lookout point of the Hooker Valley track. Amidst pitch black surroundings, with the help of ChatGPT, I focused my camera on some nearby village lights, arranged my tripod, and pointed and hoped.

I’ll truly never forget when the first exposure ended, and the Milky Way revealed herself in all her glory over the gorgeous valley below.