Stepping out of a lava cave in Auckland, my phone blew up with news: a massive solar flare with CME…and an aurora was set to arrive in New Zealand skies around midnight. This wasn’t just any aurora; it was a big one, maybe as good as the one we saw last May. My first thought? “Do I hop on a plane south?”
Usually, last-minute flights are a total rip-off. But wouldn’t you know it, we were smack in the middle of a long weekend when everyone was staying put, so flights were surprisingly cheap. After checking the weather, it was a toss-up between Wellington and Christchurch. A quick chat with my good friend and fellow aurora chaser, Grant, sealed the deal: Christchurch it was.
Now, this isn’t my first rodeo chasing the lights by plane. More often than not, it’s a bust – usually pretty disappointing, to be honest. But hey, you gotta play to win, right? We booked our flights and then the madness began: a frantic rush home, a quick shower, repacking like a maniac, and then straight to the airport. It was incredibly stressful, but somehow, I pulled it off.
Just as we started boarding, our phones buzzed again. The aurora shockwave had arrived. We were crushed. You seriously couldn’t make this stuff up. Once on the plane, we tried our luck with a few photos, but saw absolutely nothing. Had our luck run out?
Nope! Arriving at Christchurch airport, we grabbed our rental car and made a mad dash for one of my favorite spots near Christchurch: Lake Ellesmere. It’s awesome for reflections and has minimal light pollution. Last time I was there, it was a circus with cars everywhere, so we found a spot that required a bit of a hike. It was a gamble, but we figured it was worth it.
When we got there, we were stoked to see only about five other photographers. I quickly set up and took a couple of test shots. The aurora was there, not huge, but definitely active. Grant did some scouting and found an even better, unobstructed view about five minutes away.
It was a super nice evening. Minimal clouds, not a breath of wind, which meant the lake was like glass. As the night wore on, a big green oval started to form, growing bigger and bigger, with small beams reaching up. Then, as I was chatting with Grant, he noticed some huge beams popping up in the right corner of his images. And just like that, without any warning, the sky exploded.
It was, hands down, the best aurora show I’ve ever seen in New Zealand. Giant, dancing beams that were vivid to the naked eye. The colors were insane: green, red, purple, yellow, blue, and more. We were practically screaming like little kids. It was changing so fast that every single shot was completely different from the last. And the reflections off the lake? Absolutely mind-blowing.
Then, after about 30 minutes, it was done.
Here are my photos:
