Southern Lights Forecast & Alerts for Queenstown

Aurora displays happen at night. During the day, position yourself for evening success while exploring Queenstown and Central Otago.

Fergbaker on Shotover Street opens at 6am for post-aurora breakfast. After shooting aurora at Glenorchy or Lake Wakatipu, head here for famous pies, Boston cream donuts, and croissants. The Bakery Queenstown also on Shotover Street opens at 6am. Sweet Coffee Trailer near the gondola base typically opens at 8am (check current hours before relying on it for a post-aurora visit).

Glenorchy and Lake Wakatipu shores require daytime scouting before night shoots. Drive to Glenorchy during afternoon light. Explore the Glenorchy-Paradise Road heading north from town to locate lakeshore access points and gravel turnouts with southern views down the lake. At Frankton Beach and Queenstown Gardens, scout lakefront access points with southern exposure. By evening, you'll know exactly where to set up for reflections with the Remarkables backdrop.

Queenstown Camera Company primarily serves the professional film industry but rents Sony Alpha series cameras (A7S III, A7R V) that are ideal for low-light aurora photography. Storyworks and Alpine Focus offer video, lighting, and photography equipment rental across Queenstown and Central Otago.

Skyline Stargazing at Bob's Peak (480m elevation) runs 60-minute tours with 11-inch Celestron telescopes. Note: the site sits directly above Queenstown's town lights, so it is not a true dark sky venue. Queenstown Stargazing operates at the Kawarau Gibbston Dark Sky Park (certified 2024), which is the premier dark sky option in the region, with 1.5-hour small group 360-degree tours.

New Zealand winter nights get cold in Central Otago. Alpine locations are significantly colder than coastal areas. Wear warm layers including a windproof jacket. Queenstown winters can drop below freezing. Bring a thermos with hot coffee or tea.

Pack your camera or smartphone with fully charged batteries. Cold drains batteries fast. Bring spares. A tripod or stable surface is essential for long exposure photography.

A red flashlight preserves your night vision. Bring a blanket or camping chair.

Modern smartphones capture aurora photos. Enable night mode. Use a tripod. Set exposure time to 3-15 seconds. Turn off flash. Point toward the southern horizon. Use wide-angle lens settings. The lake reflections and mountain silhouettes create spectacular compositions.

Black ice: Central Otago temperatures drop rapidly after sunset. Mountain road sections, especially the Queenstown to Glenorchy road and routes toward the Remarkables, can develop invisible black ice even when the road looks only wet. Assume ice on any road in shadow.

Snow chains: Carry chains if heading to the Remarkables or Coronet Peak access roads. Rental companies provide them. Practice fitting them during daylight before you need to do it at 2am.

Fuel: Never head out on an aurora hunt with less than half a tank. If a road closes or conditions deteriorate, you'll need the engine running to stay warm.

Road conditions: Check the QLDC (Queenstown Lakes District Council) road report. The previous morning's report tells you which roads had ice that day.

Cell coverage: Signal drops out past Bennett's Bluff on the road to Glenorchy. Tell someone your specific destination and expected return time before leaving.

Tell someone where you're going. Mountain weather changes rapidly. Check forecasts. Drive carefully on mountain roads at night.

Traditional aurora forecasts rely on the Kp index. That's a three-hour average that can miss rapid spikes in geomagnetic activity. Aurora displays can develop, peak, and fade faster than those averages update.

We monitor solar wind conditions as they happen. Right now. Satellites at the L1 Lagrange point, about 1 million miles from Earth, send us data. We see what's coming 30-60 minutes before it arrives. That's when we send your alert.

We don't look at just one number. Our algorithm checks multiple pathways. Southward Bz component (magnetic field direction). Solar wind speed. Particle density. Magnetometer readings from multiple sources.

When all pathways indicate aurora conditions for Queenstown, you get an alert.

This comprehensive approach catches displays that single-metric forecasts miss. When conditions align, Queenstown aurora chasers get outside. Hundreds have captured the moment.