WELLINGTON, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand has successfully taken the first step in getting South Island's Tekapo-Aoraki night sky declared a World Heritage reserve site.

    New Zealand's bid was one of five to be accepted at a meeting of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) in the Canary Islands on Wednesday, Radio New Zealand reported on Thursday.

    Austria, Spain, Chile and Hawaii are also on the list to go forward for final approval at the UNESCO world heritage meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next year.

    Only the New Zealand and Austrian locations have been recognized as "mixed sites" -- acknowledging not only their pristine night sky but also their surrounding landscape and the opportunities for astro-tourism.

    The New Zealand former cabinet minister Margaret Austin told the conference the area around Tekapo, in South Island's MacKenzie District, has pristine, dark unpolluted skies with one of the most accessible observatories in the world.

    Austin said she was overwhelmed New Zealand's bid was approved without exception and hoped the bid could be approved within two years.

    The move to formally recognize night skies as World Heritage sites was a big move for UNESCO, she said from Rome on Thursday.