Aotearoa Astrotourism Academy (AAA) is a group of astronomy experts, who give amateur astronomy and stargazing courses for the love of astronomy and Te arorangi Māori. AAA was launched by Professor John Hearnshaw with the support of Nalayini Davies, to satisfy an unmet need in the astronomical community. Since 2021, we have held several courses in Tekapo, Twizel, Martinborough and Auckland. Our latest course, especially to mark national Matariki celebrations, was in Te Horo on the Kapiti Coast.

Our motivation is to share precious knowledge about and our passion for the night sky with a wider audience so others may develop a deeper appreciation for the night sky and are inspired to conserve Aotearoa’s dark skies for generations to come. We have trained scores of people from school teachers to university students to iwi and amateur astronomers and photographers, and nature lovers. Our graduates have shared their new-found knowledge and passion with thousands of dark sky reserve astrotourists and stargazing enthusiasts all around New Zealand.

Worldwide, dark skies are under threat from light and other pollution. Protected dark sky places, such as the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve in Tekapo and the Mackenzie Basin, are sacred sanctuaries that generate many thousands of visitors and millions of tourism dollars for locals. 

We have a team of ten instructors from around New Zealand, each with their own speciality from astrophotograpy to Matariki and star navigation, equipment operation, dark sky reserves and the dark sky movement, astrotourism and the lifecycle of stars. We typically use about seven instructors for any course.