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I used to (a long time ago!) regularly lug a 10 inch F4 Newtonian along a lot of roads within a few hundred kms of Sydney, nearly always to dark sky sites. (Now I am in Brisbane, which is on average noticeably less cloudy.)
Here are a few suggestions, if you really want to get far away from the light pollution.
I haven’t been to most of these places for years, but some of them should still be useable sites.
Mt Bindo, along the Jenolan Caves road;
A dark site, very high altitude, and very accessible. Can get very cold here at any time of year, due to the altitude.
Sites Along the Putty Road:
Driving gradually north along this road, starting from the Colo River, the sky rapidly gets darker, as there is not much settlement in this direction. If you can find a site, this is one of the best directions to travel from Sydney for dark sky viewing, as light pollution falls off more rapidly than when you drive away from Sydney in other directions. The Putty road is surrounded by enormous national parks, so this also explains the darkness of the sky here.
The Mullions Range State forest, to the North of Orange:
This had many accessible viewing sites, and it was a very dark site.
Also due to the rainshadow effect, this site is usually a lot less cloudy than anywhere that is nearer to the ranges.
cheers, Bad galaxy man
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