16Th Snake Valley Camp.

[mill]

1st - 5th November 2013
Booking in at the bottom of this page.

​
4 nights of beautiful dark sky away from City glare.
- LIMITED TO 50 BOOKINGS ONLY -
(plus casual visitors also welcome)

- The observing field has 240 volt mains Power
- There are 12 bunkhouses (from 2 to 8 bunks) and lots of camping space on the observing field.
- Caravans welcome.
- Hot showers & toilets in a caravan park style amenities block.
- Large dining room for about 60 people
- Recreation room (billiards, table tennis)
- Fully equipped kitchen with all cooking utensils, crockery, cutlery, fridges etc.
- Lake for swimming, fishing, canoeing etc.
- BBQ facilities
*Please note, Bunkhouses CANNOT be booked for one night only.
We have previously lost bookings due to bunkhouses being used for only one night when people wanted to book them for 3 or 4 nights and couldn't because of the 'one night' stayer booking it first.
Exceptions are accepted if you are in a shared bunkhouse with others staying more than one night.
Alternatively, the campsite is available for one night if that's all you can stay.
*Alcohol is allowed, but 'drunkenness' will not be tolerated. Offenders will be asked to leave.
* Aerosols of any description (Aeroguard, deodorant etc) are TOTALLY BANNED on the observing field. Stray spray could (and has) permanently damage optics.
​
Snake Valley Astronomy Camps are fun, low key social events. A white light ban is in force (as expected), but due to the nature of our camps, imagers and observers are all mixed in together having a great social astronomy experience.
Red Lights (Red LED Head Torches, etc) are acceptable.

THE BUNKHOUSES
The 12 bunkhouses range from 2, 4, or 6 bunks up to several with 8 bunks (4 sets of upper and lower bunks).
They have mattresses, but no bed linen. You will need to supply your own sheets, blankets, doona's, and pillows. Or just throw a sleeping bag on the mattress.
​
CAMPING
The observing field/camping area is on a very gentle slope to assist drainage, bordered on the west by trees and the
road, and on the east by the lake. Plenty of room for a lot of people to camp and set up.
240v power is supplied.
​
SKY
Very dark. There is a faint light dome visible low in the east, coming from Ballarat, Melbourne and Geelong.
​
COOKING
The kitchen is fully equipped.
All cutlery, cooking utensils, pots, pans, jugs, you name it, it's probably there!
Microwaves, grillers, enormous gas ovens and stove top, 3 fridge/freezers.
All you need is your food.
​
SHOPS
There are supplies available locally.
3k - Snake Valley General Store: Basic groceries, petrol etc
closes 12:00 Sat, shut Sunday
5k - Linton Store: Basic groceries, petrol, hot fish & chips, hamburgers etc.
Open 7 days till 8pm
12k - Smythesdale: Supermarket, petrol, shops.
Open 7 days
20 minutes - Ballarat
​
LOCAL SIGHTS: Nimmons Bridge, Computer Museum, Jubilee Gold Mine Historic Reserve, Sovereign Hill, etc.

FEES
(to allow more people to attend the camp some people may have to share a bunkhouse)

Bunkhouses (per person)*
2 nights $60.00
3 nights $80.00
4 nights $95.00
Campsite (per person)
1 night $25.00
2 nights $50.00
3 nights $75.00
4 nights $90.00
Children under 5 y.o. - free
Saturday Night Feast - adults -$20.00 - under 15 yo -$15.00
The fee for the Saturday night feast goes to assist the local CERT Team. (Community First Responder Emergency Response Team).


Please book in with name:
Bunk or tent:
How many ppl:
How many nights:
Which day's:
Feast yes/no:



Hoping to see you all there,


Martin.

[barx1963]

Name Malcolm Barker
Bunk or tent:Bunk
How many ppl:1
How many nights:2
Which day's:Friday and Saturday
Feast yes/no:YES!!!

Love ya work Martin!!

Malcolm

[desler]

Name Darren Esler
Bunk or tent:Bunk
How many ppl:1
How many nights:4
Which day's: All of them!
Feast yes/no:YES!!!

Yey Marty

Dazza

:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):P: P

[Cloudyagain]

Please book in with name: Neale Walters
Bunk or tent: BUNK
How many ppl: 1
How many nights: 3
Which day's: Fri Sat Sun
Feast yes/no: YES

[Jen]

Woooooohoooooo yes im in for sure :) I wouldn't miss it even though its the hubby's birthday that weekend hahaha :) shhhhhhhh

Jen & Drew
Bunk or tent: tent
How many ppl: 2
How many nights: all of them cause Mondays always the best night haha
Which day's: as above ummm do I really have to repeat myself again lol
Feast yes/no: yes please

IS IT NOVEMBER YET :)
Omg I'm so excited look out crystal cabins were back with a vengeance after missing out last camp hahaha it's going to feel like a 5 star hotel to be able to have a shower lol lol :)

[Forgey]

Please book in with name: Paula
Bunk or tent: Tent
How many ppl: 2
How many nights:2 (might change when i get my rec leave request back from work)
Which day's: Friday/Saturday
Feast yes/no: YES!

Bring it on :D

[mill]

All booked in :)

[Jen]

Wooohooo jens doing her happy dance :)

[niko]

Niko
Camping
4 nights
Feast
No clouds

Thanks

[alistairsam]

oh yeah, its about time!!
count me in

Bunk or tent: Tent
How many ppl: 1
How many nights: 2
Which day's: Sat, Sun
Feast yes/no: Yep

[Jen]

Mmmm Niko where has you enthusiasm gone lol what happened to f#*k yeah count me in haha :)

[rcheshire]

Please book in with name: Rowland
Bunk or tent: Bunk
How many ppl: 1
How many nights: 4
Which day's: All
Feast yes/no: Yes

Thanks Martin

[Greenswale]

Soooo, its that time again!

Wren
Bunk
One ppl
4 nights
And you betcha for the feast!

Darren - bring ya togs, rubber ducky and shrink reduction kit.

[Jen]

Hahaha lol Wren :) are you bringing some more flying toys :)

[Wombat_In_Space]

Hi Martin
Put me down as a possible booking for now please.

Please book in with name:Darren
Bunk or tent:Tent
How many ppl:1
How many nights:All
Which day's:All
Feast yes/no:Yes

[byronpaul]

Martin,

been hanging out for this !!!!!!

Name: Paul Byron
Bunk or tent: Caravan
How many ppl: 1
How many nights: 3 (possibly 4)
Which day's: Fri, Sat, Sun (maybe Monday)
Feast yes/no: Yes

Looking forward to catching up with everybody.

[Greenswale]

Yep, Jen. There will be flying and frolic in the pond. Maybe even a bit of night flying........

But it all depends on someone's need to jump in and play with the frogs.

[mill]

All booked in :)

[desler]

Jen

I heard you were the one with snorkel and flippers, retrieving the big boys toys from the lake! We could possibly make a empty UDL can raft!

Daz

[Jen]

]

:rofl::rofl: lol Daz but you my dear friend owns the rubber ducky bahahaha :P udl raft sounds like fun :rofl: hehe let's do it :) I will empty them while you make the raft :) [/COLOR]

[Moonman]

Emiel and I will duck over the pond for this one again.

Emiel and Michael Booth
bunk house 4 nights
and Saturday Night Feast!

Looking forward to catching up with folks again!:)

Cheers

[mishku]

It's ME!!! Thanks, JenJen, for the reminder!!

Bunk or tent: Bunk please
How many ppl: 2: Mish and Mr Mish
How many nights: 3
Which day's: Fri, Sat, Sun
Feast yes/no: Hells yes!


and an extra booking (in case he hasn't seen)

Bunk or tent: Bunk (But separate bunkhouse if poss, please)
How Many People: 1 x Waz
How many nights: 3
Which days: Fri, Sat, Sun
Feast: Hells yes!


Sooo looking forward to seeing you all!

Marty, any chance I can borrow the club dob? I still have my teeeeny tiny car :)

[barx1963]

Mish
I will be bringing my little 8" travelscope. Should have Sky Vector (similar to Argo) working by then so will be easy to use.
You are welcome to borrow it on the Friday and Sat nights when I am using the 20".

Malcolm

[Jen]

Yayyy and you can also have a play with johnny :)

[mill]

All booked in boy's and girl :P
And the club dob can be borrowed.

[mill]

johnny gets used and abused again.

:D:D:D

[Paddy]

Alas I will be a non-starter for this one. Will be away for this weekend.

Would it be possible to shift the new moon date so I can come?

[Jen]

He's a big boy he can handle it haha :)


Oh no paddy that's a shame you going to miss out :( u should know by now I never plan anything in November so it doesn't clash with SV lol lol

[john.pullen1]

Bunk or tent: Bunk (But separate bunkhouse if poss, please)
How Many People: 1
How many nights: 4
Which days: Fri, Sat, Sun,Mon
Feast: Hells yes!

Quad copter and planes yes

Regards, John from Geelong

[mill]

John if you read the top of this page it say's: 1st - 5th November 2013

Cheers,
Martin.

[mill]

Weird i got this email send from IIS and it doesn't show up here ????

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
A Question, is the camp on between Tuesday 1 oct and 5 oct.?

Most people indicated thet were attending from the Friday to the Monday, with the feast on the Saturday night, but there is no Saturday between the 1 and the 5 Oct.

ConfusedJohn
***************

[Paddy]

I try to avoid it too, but it was a bit hard to reschedule my beloved's birthday - one with a 0 in it too.

[mill]

Paddy surely it wouldn't be 100 ??? :D:D:P
Just kidding, pity you can't make it :(

[john.pullen1]

Thanks Martin, It helps to read all the message, Will be there.

Geelong John

[danielsun]

Yep count me in and at this stage my two boys wanna come too but will confirm the boys shortly so it will be..

How many, 3
Bunkhouse please
All 4 nights
Saturday night feast, yes please.

Cant wait!:)

[Jen]

Hehe well I'm a bad bad wifey cause my hubby's birthday is on the 1st Nov ooops hahaha

[Paddy]

:eyepop::nerd:

[04Stefan07]

Name: Stefan D
Bunk or tent: Tent
How many ppl: 3
How many nights: 2
Which day's: Friday & Saturday night
Feast yes/no: No thank you!

This will be our first time out in an area with dark skies, looking forward to it!!

Cheers,
Stefan.

[cjpops]

Hi Martin,

I have been trying to go to this event for a while now :)
My brother-in-law is joining me and will bring his caravan - will this be permitted on site?

Name: Craig
Bunk or tent: Caravan
How many ppl: 2 Adults 2 kids (potentially 1 or 2 more ppl but will be in the caravan)
How many nights: 4 nights
Which day's:
Feast yes/no: Yes

[mill]

Craig, a caravan is fine on the field.

[Cam]

I,m hoping to attend again with the lil ppl but I'm having a hard time recovering this leg :( ... I have been non weight bearing and haven't been able to set up any scopes since the start of March. I had a 2nd bonegraft 2 weeks ago so fingers crossed.

Cam +3
Tent
4 nights
Yes please for the feast.

Thanks Cam.

[mill]

Cam as you know there is always someone there ready and willing to help you setup :)
We also do bone grafts on the kitchen table :D

[barx1963]

Always willing to help Cam!!

Look forward to seeing you there mate!

Malcolm

[StarsInMyEyes]

Hey Martin,
If its not too late, book me in please. :D


Name: Peter A
Bunk or tent: tent
How many ppl: 1
How many nights: 3 ( maybe 4 )
Which day's: Fri, Sat, Sun
Feast yes/no: Yes Please !!!

Thanks Pete :thumbsup:

[mill]

Hi Pete you are booked in :thumbsup:

[mill]

Only a few places left.
The bunk houses are booked full so only camping is available.

[Alios]

Please book in with name: Alios
Bunk or tent: tent
How many ppl: 1
How many nights: 2
Which day's: Sunday and Monday
Feast yes/no: no
Hope I get in, I missed last time
Alios:rofl:

[traveller]

Any tent spots left Martin?
Need a spot for two, two nights (Sat and Sunday) with Sat night feast!
Thanks
Bo

[mill]

Hi Bo,

Yep some spots left so you are welcome to come.
Good to see you again :)

Martin.

[mill]

Alios and Bo you are booked in :)

[Jen]

Wooohooo not long to go now getting very excited :)

[traveller]

Thanks Martin, will have to re-learn how to connect camera to a telescope...

[mill]

Don't get too exited Jen :P
Is Johnny ok now?




Bo the camera goes with a T piece in the big 2" hole at the end of the scope :rofl:
After that you are in trouble :P

[Cam]

You arent alone there Bo. Its been so long since Ive been able to set anything up LoL

[alexV]

Name Alex Verdiants
Bunk or tent:tent
How many ppl:2
How many nights:2
Which day's:Friday and Saturday
Feast yes/no:No

[niko]

I'm a no-show this year folks. I'll be in Richmond, Virginia at a conference!

have fun and clear skies!!!

[mccann73]

Hi Martin, I am fairly new to all of this, have meet a few people on the forums at the Cairns eclipse and they suggested i come along, don't even have a telescope, but would love to come up and learn a few things from everyone else! :)

Name: Andrew McCann
Bunk or tent: tent
How many ppl: 1
How many nights: 2
Which day's: Fri, Sat
Feast yes/no: Yes

Cheers
Andrew

[mill]

Traitor!!! :P
Have fun and don't get shot in that weird country.

[mill]

Alex and Andrew you are both booked in :)

Andrew you will like it up in Snake Valley.
Plenty of scopes to look thru.

[alexV]

thank you Martin

[alexV]

Martin it is Alex +1
Thank you

[mill]

Already done Alex :)

[Forgey]

Hi Martin, I know there was a map somewhere last time but it cant find it. Do you have a map of where it it?

[mill]

Hi Paula here they are,

[Forgey]

Thanks Martin :)

[Astroman]

Can I book in for next March? :)

[mill]

Yehhhhhh you can mate, just tell me how many day's etc:

Cheers,

Martin.

[cjpops]

Martin, I'll be there for 2 nights instead of 4 as my boss is refusing my request for Monday off :mad2:. My brother in law will probably stay 4 nights with his caravan. Will confirm when the time gets close. Thanks.

[Jen]

Dam those nasty bosses :mad2:

Ok I'm getting really excited now it's nearly November :) it feels like I havnt been to an astro camp for ever with being the last one was cut short and the one before that I popped up or one night :) bring on four nights with some awsome company yeeeeehaaaaa :)

[mill]

OK only two words from me,
TWO WEEKS.
:P

[alistairsam]

Yeah!!!

[04Stefan07]

Looking forward to it.

This will be the first time I have gone to an AstroCamp.

[Moonman]

Is there some strange new route for getting to Snake Valley that hasn't been tried yet?

[rcheshire]

Martin PM sent.

[mill]

I hope your dad will be ok :thumbsup:

[alistairsam]

Hi Martin,
Can you please add one more person to my booking, have a family friend who wants to come along.

it'll be

Bunk or tent: 1 x Tent
How many ppl: 2
How many nights: 3
Which day's: Fri, Sat, Sun
Feast yes/no: Yep 1 x Adult + 1 x 14yr old

Thanks
Alistair

[mill]

Done mate.

[mill]

Less than a week to go now :eyepop::thumbsup:

[Jen]

Wooohoooo :)

[barx1963]

Hmmm!
Less that a week to go and all we get is a single "Wooohooo" from Jen, and it wasn't even purple!

I'm worried about our Jen, she must be ill or something!!:shrug:

Malcolm

[Jen]

Nawww thanks Malcolm I'm all good thanks buddy :) it's harder to make it purple when I'm on my iPad hehehe :) :) :) :)
I'm very excited and starting to get some of my things together already hehe
IS IT FRIDAY YET :lol:

[erick]

Have fun at Snake Valley camp, and the clearest of skies! :thumbsup:

I'll miss being there. :sadeyes:

[byronpaul]

Started packing ....

Have to get all the astro gear out and dust it off ..... it's been that long since I've had a good gaze above.

Can't wait :party2:

[rcheshire]

Thanks Martin. I hope you'll enjoy a weekend of clear skies and good seeing.

[Jen]

:eyepop: Erickkkkk......... Awww... Now I'm going to have to harass someone else and annoy them while trying to hunt down the horsey :)
Long time no see I hope all is well with you and the family xo I just looked at your location WTF how long have you been there for ?

[barx1963]

Jen
Erick's gotten a bit slack, it's really not that far from Israel to Snake Valley!

Malcolm

[Jen]

:lol::lol: yeah he has hasn't he :rolleyes: you would think he would still make the effort to come and see us haha :shrug:

[Rob_K]

Have fun all, once again I'll miss out. :( Away all November unfortunately but next March, just you wait.... :D ;) :lol:

Cheers -

[Forgey]

Not long to go now!

[Jen]

Is doing her happy dance already :)

:party::party::party:

[Paddy]

Hope you have clear skies all - sorry to be missing out. See you in March!

[barx1963]

Will be missing you up there Paddy.

See you next time!

Malcolm

[Jen]

Wooohooooo guess what guys IT'S NOVEMBER :)


Paddy now who am I going to harass to collimate johnny ;)

I will be on the road in a few hours time see you all there :)

[mill]

See ya Jen :hi:

[Wombat_In_Space]

Hope you guys are haveing a great time and clear skies, wish I could have made it this time. :sadeyes:

[barx1963]

Had a great couple of days at SV. Missed Paddy and Doug especially but good to see a lot of newbies as well.
Friday night started off a bit rough but the clouds cleared nicely for a few hours solid observing before heading off to bed at about 3am.
Saturday was a wierd day! Not a cloud in sight all day so lots of solar scopes around the field. As twilight decsended after the feast a few clouds appeared in the south west and by the time darkness arrived we were socked in solid and it stayed that way!!:sadeyes::sadeyes::mad2::mad2:
Luckily we had a great bunch of people to pass the night with.
Hopefully the crew staying on will have a nice night tonight.

Thanks again to Ken and Martin for the organisation, I know it is a thankless task often so well done.:thumbsup:

Is it March yet?;)

Malcolm

[traveller]

Yep, thanks Martin and Ken for a great camp once more. Great to catch up with others as well. Sat night was weird, but I got lots of useful tips from talking to the more experienced members there.
Sunday was periods of rain and sunshine and we had a few patches of clear skies as well. But the rain also came in patches :mad2:
Managed to try out my modded 40D (thanks to Martin with his delicate hands repairing my camera's Live View issue and fixing it with a 24v lithium ion cordless power drill :jawdrop: yes you had to be there to believe it and no I couldn't bear to watch either!).
Thanks also to Danielsun for lending of his tripod and members of the Geelong club for their tips and ideas.
Looking forward to the next camp.
Bo

[Greenswale]

Last night was u n b e l i e v a b l e!

Tradition has the fourth night as the best, and it certainly was!

Many thank to Ken and Marty for organising a top camp and for a fantastic feast on Saturday night.

Great to see lots of people and equipment and to enjoy the company of all. The only low point was when the world's tallest ironbark pulled my glider into its leafy embrace!

And to preempt Jen: Is it March yet?!!!!

[barx1963]

I guess I am sorta glad Monday was so nice!!:sadeyes: At least I was at home and had the scope out so was able to do some nice observing. Was certainly missing the dark SV skies tho!

Malcolm

[alistairsam]

Haven't seen any pics so here are a few.

Had a great time as always, friday night was a bit iffy, partially clear till 4 am, sat was a no go, sun was a game of hide and seek with the clouds. you look up, crystal clear, look down to turn on the scope and look up, its gone. some very fast moving clouds.
mon night was the clearest.
Had fun hunting comets lovejoy and ison with Jen and her polarie.

There was a good turnout, these pics are from day 3 and 4. so half had left. good to see some newcomers.

It was a good chance to test astroplanner to decide on targets, there were so many but very limited time as always. Brilliant piece of software.

Thanks to Ken and Martin for all the effort. Looking forward to March.

Cheers
Alistair

[danielsun]

Thanks Ken and Marty for another great camp.:thumbsup: Had a great time as usual regardless of the weather :thumbsup: but the last night was an absolute cracker!!! :eyepop: Though it was a little quieter with a few of the usual characters Like Niko, Doug, Darren, Cam and his kids and Neale missing we had Jen to make up for it. :D :lol: It was great catching up with everyone again and meeting some new faces. Great effort Darren for dropping in and saying a quick hello. Hope you recover quickly and all good for March. The boys really enjoyed it and we cant wait for March.

[danielsun]

and a few more.

[desler]

Great photo set Daniel. Was good to catch up and can't wait for March!!!!!!!

Daz

[Forgey]

My first Snake Valley camp and I must say I'll be be back in March!
Thanks to Ken and Martin for a great camp.
It was great to finally put faces to names. Thank you all for making me feel welcome. Wish I could have stayed longer but my 'friend' had to get back.
Jen your a bad influence lol thanks for a fun Friday night.

For those that missed it here is Dave's car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px8ey25d604

[Forgey]

some more pics

[Alios]

151494

151495
I'd like to thank Ken and Martin for great camp. Very happy to be there again, I had a wonderful time. Than You Daniel for stopping by on the freeway to check up on me. Looking forward to see all of you in March.
Cheers Alios:thanx:

[danielsun]

Paula! :eyepop: Ouch!! That's some bad sunburn there! I know what you mean when you where enjoying the chilly evening breeze. Nice pics.

Hey Alios, no problem, glad to see you got home OK and really love the widfield shot, that is a ripper!! Great work.:thumbsup: ;)

[traveller]

Great photos everyone,
Thanks for the lend of the tripod, now that my 40D is working, I am on the look out for a Polarie...
Bo

[04Stefan07]

I am looking forward for the next camp!

[Jen]

Yep im ok guys i made it home safe and sound :)
Well..... I think you all know how much I love these camps and this one once again did not disappoint I had the best time even though I did miss quite a few of you douggie, dazza, Pete, Neale, Niko, paddy etc who weren't there to rub sunscreen on my boobies hahahahaha but it was also great to meet a few noobies too that I hope I haven't frightened away hahaha and it was awsome to catch up with the usual crowd my little astro family (I love you guys) it took me a week to recover AGAIN lol but I got a bit more sleep this camp a big 15 hours in four days and i have been flat out since i got home with visitors etc that i still haven't gone through my photos yet lol lol Monday night was fricken amazing Omg I was so into playing with my camera and my Polarie with a borrowed wide field lens (thank you Jamie) I think I actually didn't say one word for a whole hour hahaha hunting comets was fun couldn't get ISON though :( I had lots of giggles getting Paula drunk and sending her into the cupboard lol lol once again I have a snake valley tan hahaha oh and Marty fixed johnny wooohooo it has been doing as its told with no hick ups so far so good yayyyy thank you Marty your a legend johnny 5 is alive once again I have learnt heaps and my xmas list has just been extended AGAIN hahahaha thanks Daniel for bringing your boys Drew had a great time too accept he was sick again on the last night poor bugger :(
Pics to come :)
Thanks ken and Marty for making these camps happen you guys rock is it march yet :)