Quote:
Originally Posted by pmrid
Sam, you've tapped into the "almost" great australian dream. Thre are many factors that would influence this decision. Here are a few:
1. Accessibility. This is a double-edged sword. If you can reach it, so can others. The more accessible the location, the more vulnerable it will be to theft, vandalism etc. Our fellow citizens are not a uniformly honest and decent bunch!
2. Do you want an observatory as such or just a place to sling a bunk while you set up a tripod. The collateral question is how much you're willing to spend. Do you plan buying a block of dirt on some remote mountain-top, or just doing an overnight squat somewhere?
3. Power, water, telephone, internet, toilets etc. Many questions here. Many compromises.
4. Fire risk.
5. Then, the question of seeing: the usual shopping list includes, cold climate with clear skies. Light pollution is an issue now and will get worse. But you won't do much imaging below 20-25 degrees above the horizon anyway so this can be managed. And you can image in narrowband - but you can do that from the city already can't you, so why go to all this trouble?
6. OK. Locations - there are some very good observatories in the central west - sites that are relatively low but remote and cold at night. Rural areas can have their own problems of course - dust, farmers burning-off, lights from vehicles on the highways etc. The top of a remote and elevated area would be better in many ways.
7. Long-terms climate issues. It's not going to get any cooler. In fact, quite the opposite. Do you want to spend money now on a site that will be much less attractive in 10-20 years time. Will you be able to resell it readily?
Sorry to badger you with all this but this is not a one-dimensional issue.
Peter
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Hey Peter, thanks for your thoughtful response. It is exactly what I was after. Without experience, this can be a pipe dream. Hence why I have battled between a caravan vs. building out a container with fireplace, solar panels etc.
All of those issues have run through my head. Especially the fire risk in Oz. In the Netflix special, all of the cabins were on rolling green planes with not a whole heap of shrubbery or trees. The climate in Wales is also vastly different!
This is why I am considering many options, even coastal or lakeside.
I'm not accustomed to the country, grown up in the suburbs, so obviously weary of animals that could pose a threat (snakes and the sort).
The idea was a weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle. I could do without internet as I spend every waking minute on it, but contact via phone is important in case of emergency.
To answer your question: it isn't necessary to have an observatory as such. I know i'll be more of a casual observer, and I get great joy seeing the night sky with the naked eye and a set of binoculars. That gives me my cosmic fill. If I did delve into it further I'd definitely set up something a little more serious!
The more I think about it, the tougher this does become. The first hit I felt was in NZ, there was this little cabin on one of the roads we were travelling down in just an amazing picturesque spot. It was beautiful. I thought, damn that would be bloody nice.
I don't think I'd want to be too far into the woods, especially in Australia with the risk of bushfire, and especially since I am not experienced in this arena. I have a mate who regularly camps and 4WD's. He hunts, skins animals and can live off the land if he had to. So I could get a few tips off him. Not sure if i'd be skinnin' animals anytime soon, though. Ha ha.
I guess I just wanted to know if anyone here regularly uses a caravan or perhaps has a little slice of a scenic location they go to for a retreat.
I am not pulling the trigger until I get to Tasmania and drive along the East/West, this will be years in the making - just wanted to do some groundwork now. I am OK to be talked out of it if it's a silly idea, or whether a compromise is a better choice.
In the end, perhaps a Caravan is the best choice (albeit a little more tight on space than the container option I had in mind). But the benefit is you can up & go, and it isn't necessary to purchase a lot of land either!
I will need to do a few more trips around Victoria, so open to potential locations I should be checking out!
Thanking you once again.