A group of stargazers got a bit more than they bargained for from their trip to Mt John Observatory at Lake Tekapo, with strong winds forcing them to hunker down in the cafe for the night.
The sudden onset of gale force winds, at times gusting up to 155km/h, made it too dangerous for 18 tourists and nine staff members to get off the mountain in New Zealand's South Island.
"With winds this strong it's unsafe for people to be out in and definitely out of the question to be driving vehicles on the road," general manager Margaret Munro said.
Stranded on the mountain for the night, in the comfort of the observatory's cafe, everyone was given food and refreshments and soft items to rest on.
The group finally made it safely off the mountain and returned to Tekapo about 5am on Sunday.
The Mt John Observatory is a research facility run by the University of Canterbury.
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