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Old 07-09-2017, 03:20 AM
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Possible visit to AU (NSW) next Feb, ideas ?

My gf and me planned to make another South Africa trip, but instead we possibly change our plans for Australia (NSW).

Then we'll fly onto Sydney and rent a car and stay in AirBNB homes which offers nice homes for a reasonable price (comparable to S Africa).
I'll bring my 110ED + AP equipment as weather in summer should be nice.

We are not so of the busy tourist attractions, but are there nice (and dark) places in NSW to stay ?
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Old 07-09-2017, 04:57 AM
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Welcome! Consider Warrumbungles Mountain Motel located about half way between Coonabarabran and Siding Springs observatory. If you are there during a new moon period expect very dark skies. Enjoy your stay!
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Old 07-09-2017, 10:29 AM
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Yeah so long as you stay far from Sydney you should find dark skies, the Warrumbungles and surrounding country is a beautiful area. About 7h drive from either Sydney or Brisbane. If you want to see some beaches, QLD has better beaches
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Old 13-09-2017, 03:49 AM
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I booked my flight with Emirates to Sydney.

We found some nice AirBNBs near Sydney and near Coonabarabran.
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Old 13-09-2017, 06:05 AM
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I don't know if you are into visiting astro sites or not while you are here, but most of the country ones are in reasonably dark areas.

There is a host of observatories in the Warrumbungles near Coonabarabran.

There's also the Australia Telescope (radio telescope) facility at Narrabri, a bit north of Coonabarabran, the radiotelescope at Parkes (The Dish), and the Deep Space tracking station at Tidbinbilla near Canberra.

You can't go too far wrong with Coonabarabran however. The town is dark sky aware so there's not too much light pollution for Coona itself, so it would have to be top of the list.

Al.
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Old 13-09-2017, 02:53 PM
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Having recently driven through Coona in the deep of night, I can attest to the fact that there is not much light pollution at all - in fact, I stopped maybe a KM out of town to attend to the call of nature, and of course looked up and was amazed.
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Old 14-09-2017, 01:51 AM
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Having recently driven through Coona in the deep of night, I can attest to the fact that there is not much light pollution at all - in fact, I stopped maybe a KM out of town to attend to the call of nature, and of course looked up and was amazed.
Would be nice, is it something like Sutherland (South Africa) ? I was there 4 years ago close to SALT.

I also remember Greyhound bus trips I made in 2000 and 1988 from Mt Isa via Tennant Creek to Alice Springs, where during a night stop at a gas station the sky was overwhelmingly clear and dark, in the middle of Northern Territory. And similar trips in Queensland.

Where is the SKA (Square Kilometer Array) ? Or is it in WA ?
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Old 14-09-2017, 06:09 AM
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Where is the SKA (Square Kilometer Array) ? Or is it in WA ?
In WA.

Al.
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Old 14-09-2017, 12:36 PM
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Would be nice, is it something like Sutherland (South Africa) ? I was there 4 years ago close to SALT.

I also remember Greyhound bus trips I made in 2000 and 1988 from Mt Isa via Tennant Creek to Alice Springs, where during a night stop at a gas station the sky was overwhelmingly clear and dark, in the middle of Northern Territory. And similar trips in Queensland.
The Newell Highway that runs through Coonabarabran has quite a few trucks running along it as it's a major route through from QLD to Melbourne. As you'll need a car to get there anyway, I'd suggest heading into the Warrumbungle NP during daytime to scope out a spot to picnic and watch the night fall. It's about 30km from Coonabarabran and Siding Spring is on the hills above...although there is no public access near the telescopes at night.

Away from the highway, the region is pretty sparsely populated though.
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Old 15-09-2017, 01:43 AM
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The Newell Highway that runs through Coonabarabran has quite a few trucks running along it as it's a major route through from QLD to Melbourne. As you'll need a car to get there anyway, I'd suggest heading into the Warrumbungle NP during daytime to scope out a spot to picnic and watch the night fall. It's about 30km from Coonabarabran and Siding Spring is on the hills above...although there is no public access near the telescopes at night.

Away from the highway, the region is pretty sparsely populated though.
We think also going to the Blue Mountains, stay there and drive on to Coona and stay there, but we have yet to make an itinerary.
Maybe going to the Red Center, but too far for driving from Sydney, so then a Greyhound can be an option and rent a car in Alice as we did in 2000.
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