EDITORIAL: Tekapo's dark-sky experience contains more than just a touch of Catch 22. Up on Mt John, shivering in the bitter wind on a cloudless night, you find it is not completely dark after all. The combined light of millions of stars propagating through the pitch black, crystal-clear sky actually casts a faint glow across the hilltop. Some tourists have actually complained that, as a result, the dark up there is not total at all.

It is an illuminating story, even if it may be apocryphal as some suggest. Either way, it shows visitors can be a fickle lot, that not everything should be sacrificed in the drive to satisfy them and that the natural environment that Tekapo has been blessed with should never be compromised in pursuit of the mighty dollar.

It comes as encouraging news that Tekapo village is on the cusp of a major and considered redevelopment. There have always been people who choose to stop a night or two in the township and drink in its natural beauty. But to the passerby, in a rush to get to bigger attractions at Mount Cook, Wanaka or Queenstown, Tekapo has rarely provided an enticement much longer than a whistlestop to duck in to one of the shops before carrying on or to quickly stretch the legs along the tussocky lake foreshore.

Now, a group of local farmers, business owners and members of the Mackenzie District Council are working together to make the most of opportunities to allow Tekapo to grow. Until relatively recently, such growth has been constrained by land owned by the Crown, and controlled by the army, leasehold farmers and electricity generators, on both sides of the township. Land swaps have since opened the door to what has to be a careful expansion.

Tekapo, inextricably linked to the awe-inspiring Mt John experience, has over the past few years broadened visitor offerings, including redeveloped skifields, an ice rink and a hot pool complex. Buildings now under development will face the lake rather than the bustle of State Highway 8 and are expected to include a New World supermarket, shops and restaurants, offices and a new youth hostel.

An Air New Zealand survey of potential Japanese holidaymakers gives an inkling of the visitor demands that Tekapo faces in the future. Seeing the stars was at the top of the wishlist for 72 per cent, compared with 46 per cent who wanted to go to the glaciers.

A revitalised and expanded Tekapo will be a boon for the South Island, particularly Canterbury. But such expansion has to be carried out and completed in the right way. Unfortunately, any redevelopment causes noise and mess, and that is heightened more for Tekapo residents who usually enjoy a state of alpine tranquillity.

One of the worst things that could happen would be for housing or commercial developments to creep north along the lake's western and eastern shores, tarnishing the vistas from the village. For this reason, we believe development needs to be confined to the head of the lake. This is something the district council's plan change 13, designating the area around Tekapo as an outstanding natural environment, can ensure.

Tekapo's movers and shakers are in an enviable position, where they can learn from the mistakes of others.