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I was out doing some casual visual observing for a few hours last night too, in southern Tassie (Huon Valley). The skies were crystal clear, the seeing was excellent, and the the Milky Way arched magnificently overhead.
Although somewhat low on the northern horizon (I am at 43 S!) Comet Lovejoy was a clear naked eye fuzzy dot, similar in appearance to 47 Tuc. In my 12x36 Canon IS II binoculars it was a spectacular halo, with traceries of a tail visible. After monitoring it on and off for about 3 hours (whilst I hunted around for other binocular feasts), I could see it move discernibly against a couple of nearby reference stars that I'd marked out in my mind at the start of the night.
Just spending time contemplating and observing visually and with a nice light pair of binoculars, when you're treated to ultra-dark skies like I now am, is a really deep philosophical experience for me. I love it. Yes, I tend to spend more time these days either mucking about with astrophotography or at the telescope eyepiece, but it is definitely worth occasionally going minimalist and just enjoying the great celestial sphere with your thoughts, and the sound of owls and thumping wallabies in the background...
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