特卡波湖：這里星空獨好

From+mydestination.com++阿瓊

在梵高那些描繪星夜的畫作面前，很少有人不會心醉神迷。星空具有致幻、安慰、愉悅等種種奇效。在暫時不能穿行于星辰之海的現在，我們至少可以在這個星球上尋找一處最迷人的、最宜仰望星空的地方。

If you were to arrive at Canterbury's Lake Tekapo at certain times of the year you could be forgiven for thinking you had just stumbled across1） a movie set. The backdrop of lilac2）-hued and snow-capped mountains， the vibrant3） and changing blue of sparkling lake waters， tree-fringed4） shores and rippling swathes5） of purple-flowering lupins6） make up a scene so idyllic7） it is hard to believe such a place exists outside of the movie theatre.

However， as perfect as this is， there is another extra special something which happens here too； something which very definitely continues on the theme of natural phenomena displays of the amazing variety—stargazing.

Now anyone who has wandered away from the New Zealand cities will tell you the skies hovering over this country seem to be more star-filled than anywhere else they've known. That's what happens in a country with so few citizens—the light pollution is either kept centralised8） or to a minimum.

However， the area around Lake Tekapo has reached a whole new level in the realms of light-leak elimination and has been recognised and awarded "Dark Sky Reserve" status by the International Dark Sky Association. With this status， this area， the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve， joins the ranks of an elite9） global few： It is both the world's largest and the Southern Hemisphere's first. What's more， it has secured itself the Association's highest possible status—the gold ranking.

In short， this means the skies of Mackenzie offer great opportunities for viewing the wonders of the universe and some incredible facilities for making the very most of that dark， dark sky.

Located at 1，029 metres on one of the towering peaks which surround Lake Tekapo at Mount John is the Mt John University Observatory—a high tech astronomical research station operated by the University of Canterbury. As one of the principle goals of the Aoraki Mackenzie Reserve is to promote star-gazing and astro-tourism， this observatory is also open to the public.

Sharing mountain top space with the Mt John University Observatory， the Astro-Cafe is the uber-10）modern glass-walled and roofed cafe where you can tuck into11） home-made treats while drinking in12） the jaw-droppingly beautiful alpine and turquoise13） lake views. Lonely Planet14） has the cafe down as15） "possibly the best place on the planet for coffee".

You can head up the mountain on foot or take a scenic 15 minute drive from Lake Tekapo town centre. If you happen to be on one of the observatory tours， the Astro-Cafe is where you'll pick up your hot chocolate for free—by candlelight of course so as not to spoil the dark sky advantage of the fantastic night-sky viewing you're about to be enchanted by.

如果你在一年中的某些時間來到新西蘭坎特伯雷地區的特卡波湖，以為自己恰好偶然發現了一處電影布景，那也情有可原。積雪覆頂的淡紫色山脈是背景，波光粼粼的湖水呈明亮而富于變化的藍色，綠樹裝點著湖岸，開著紫色花朵的羽扇豆構成了一條條波動起伏的彩帶。這些組成了一幅如此充滿田園詩意的景象，讓人很難相信電影院之外還存在這樣的地方。

然而，盡管這已如此完美，這里還有另一個非常獨特之處；而這獨特之處無疑是對展示令人驚嘆的多種自然現象這一主題的延伸，那就是觀星。

現在任何一個曾從新西蘭那些城市里走出來的人都會告訴你，高懸在這一地區上的天空似乎有更多的星星，比他們知道的其他任何地方的都要多。這經常是在人口十分稀少的地區——光污染要么很集中要么就被控制在最低的程度。

不過，特卡波湖的周圍地區在清除光泄露領域已經達到了一個全新的水平，得到國際黑暗天空協會的認可并被授予“黑暗天空保護區”的身份。憑借這一身份，該地區，即奧拉基麥肯奇國際黑暗天空保護區，躋身全球為數不多的、一流的天空保護區的行列：它既是世界上第一大，也是南半球的第一個天空保護區。此外，它還獲得了在國際黑暗天空協會可能獲得的最高身份——黃金級。

簡單來說，這意味著麥肯奇的天空為觀賞宇宙中的那些奇觀提供了絕佳的機會，也帶來了一些不可思議的便利，可以讓這一片黑暗的天空得到最大限度的利用。

特卡波湖四周都是高聳的山峰，在其中的約翰山山頂海拔1029米的地方，建有約翰山大學天文臺——由坎特伯雷大學運營的高科技天文學研究站。鑒于奧拉基麥肯奇保護區的主要目標之一就是促進觀星和天文觀測旅游，所以這個天文臺也對公眾開放。

與約翰山大學天文臺一道坐落在山頂的還有天文咖啡館，這是一家有著玻璃墻和玻璃屋頂的超現代咖啡館，在這里你可以一邊狼吞虎咽地享受家常美食，一邊陶醉于美得令人驚嘆的高山美景和青綠色的湖景。《孤獨星球》雜志將這家咖啡館描述為“也許是地球上最適合喝咖啡的地方”。

你可以徒步走上山，也可以從特卡波湖鎮中心開車走15分鐘上去，沿途都是美景。如果你正巧是來參加天文觀測游的，那么天文咖啡館就是你可以喝免費熱巧克力的地方——當然是在燭光之下，這樣才不會破壞造就了這里超凡夜景的黑暗天空，而你正要為之迷醉。