Sorry for short notice, but when a window of oportunity appears - Let's Try
We are going the week before New Moon to avoid School Holidays.
Moon will be past last quarter so it will be small and not up till after midnight.
Free and Informal - open to all.
Bring warm clothing (snow gear or similar recommended)
Bretti Reserve is a NSW Free Camp site suitable for Tent/Camper-trailer/Caravan/Motorhome/etc.
BYO everything.
Where: 2.5 hours (200k) north of Caltex M1 Wyong Twin Servos.
A beautiful camping and picnic area located in a serene environment, with good dark skies.
Although the facilities are basic, Bretti Reserve features large open spaces and a flowing river that is frequented by birdlife.
Also, don’t be surprised if a few cows graze close to your site.
There are no showers and taps, however you can drink water from the river if you boil it for at least 15 minutes. You can cook a meal (or a Damper) on the wood BBQs.
Toilets: Yes
Rubbish Bins: Yes
Camp Fires: Yes
Pet friendly: Yes
Showers: No
Maximum Stay: 1 month
Water: No
Power: No
Generators: Permitted
Mobile Reception: No
Big Rig Access: Yes
Closest Supplies: Gloucester 33k (or Barrington General Store 26k)
Getting There: Take M1 and Pacific Hwy north past Heatherbrae, then left on Buckets Way through Gloucester to Barrington and then right onto Thunderbolt’s Way for 26K to Bretti Reserve (signposted) (sealed all the way)
OK, time for an update -
looks like a small gathering.
We now have interest from Rado (Radinsky41)
who says he will try to get there Friday afternoon.
Cheers
Thanks Geoff and Rado for a great time at Bretti.
Weather was great. Sunny days clear nights.
Geoff selected a beaut spot for us right in the corner where the two rivers meet. Very relaxing watching the water birds coming and going.
The Barnard was very low and not flowing much and had quite a bit of weed and algae. Hopefully some decent rainfall will flush that out.
It was good to get the scopes out and get them working again. Its been so long. But after some head scratching they were all working well.
Lots of laughs, around a nice camp fire, with fine friends and some fine spirits topped off the nights, usually after the dew had set in.
The sky was very nice every night, only interrupted by passing cloud on Saturday. I'd forgotten how nice the sky is out there.
Geoff maintained clear lead in meteor and satellite spotting with double figure counts every night I think.
It was nice to meet Rado, who was very excited to finally see Bretti in person. Looking forward to seeing some of your images Rado. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit and look forward to seeing you again next time.
Alan just about Covered it with his previous post.
Friday night was a cracka of a night for Meteors. I spotted no less than 23 over the whole night.
And that was only when I was looking up at the dark sky and not through the scope.
Many were from the same part of the sky, and a few sporadic ones mixed in with them. The dark sky helped me spot the very faint and fleeting ones that would normally be undetected in brighter areas.
I also forgot just how dark the sky is there, and how many stars there as opposed to my home on the Coast.
Campfires every night and nice red wine went down well.
So nice to meet Rado who has a great passion for the stars and a really good knowledge of the sky.
Thx Alan for the music that was playing most of the time. I enjoyed listening to it all.
Let’s go again before winter is over....