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iceman
17-07-2007, 09:30 AM
Hi all

On the weekend, my family and I took a short holiday to Parkes and Dubbo.

We left on Saturday morning (6am) and arrived at Parkes just before lunch. We headed to the Dish, and it was my first time there. Wow, what an amazing experience. It's huge! You can see it rising out from the fields from about 10+ km's out. What a sight.

On Saturday afternoon I headed to the David Malin Awards presentations (writeup here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=22126)). It was great to meet David again and also IIS members such as Gary Hill, Eddie T and others. Steve Massey and Steve Quirk were there but only got to say g'day in passing. Also had a good chat with Ray Palmer (owner of MyAstroSpace) who came all the way from W.A!

Unfortunately I didn't get to hang around for the conference or talks as the kids would've been too bored and restless :)

Sunday morning we went back to the Dish, and man there was a thick fog that morning and very cold. The Dish was cloaked in fog and made a very eery view.

We left Parkes and headed to Dubbo, about an hour North. The main purpose of going to Dubbo was to visit the Western Plains Zoo, so we went straight there.

We hired some bikes to ride around the 6km of roads leading around the exhibits. It was great fun. We went back there on Monday morning as well and hired the electric cart (golf buggy). Man it was cold. Dubbo was -3 that morning, frost and ice on everything.

The kids really enjoyed the zoo and the dish.

I've got heaps of photos as you'd expect, I'll try and get through some over the next few days. Here's one from Sunday morning in the fog.

matt
17-07-2007, 10:14 AM
Great shot, Mike.

Does look kind of 'other-worldly' shrouded in fog like that.

Glad you and the family had a nice weekend.

sheeny
17-07-2007, 10:17 AM
Good one Mike!

I have a soft spot for the dish:) .

You made the right choices fro getting around the zoo, too! The last thing you want to do is drive:rolleyes: . You drive to one parking spot, walk half way back to the last, walk halway up to the next and walk back to the car... you're better off just walking!:lol: So bikes or a cart are the go.:thumbsup:

Al.

dwyman
17-07-2007, 10:21 AM
Sounds like a great trip. I passed on it last trip to Oz. Looks like I'll miss it this time too. Will probably check out the radio telescopes near Siding Springs instead. I've never seen one. Getting pretty excited. Only 2 1/2 months until we head for Oz.

h0ughy
17-07-2007, 10:35 AM
top shot - pity they had turned off the lights, would have looked even more ghostly - almost close encounterish!!

Raydar
18-07-2007, 01:20 AM
Hi Mike, it was good finally meeting you to. Hope you had a safe trip home. Congrats on having three winning photos!

Ray :thumbsup:

ballaratdragons
18-07-2007, 01:37 AM
Sounds like a great trip Mike!

I haven't seen 'The Dish' but about 30 years ago I had to drive up to the top of NSW and back down in a hurry, and apparently I passed within about 5k from it.

Would be an impressive sight.

Were they playing cricket on it? :lol:

RB
18-07-2007, 02:41 AM
Sounds like you had a great time Mike and it's always great to meet up with other amateurs.
Also sounds like the family had a good time, it's hard to strike a happy medium between astro and family time but you always seem to manage it well.

I'd love to visit The Dish.
Looking forward to all the photos mate !

erick
18-07-2007, 10:13 AM
Thanks Mike. I love "The Dish". It has real aesthetic character - beautiful! For several years, I regularly drove from Melbourne to Bundaberg - maybe twice a year - in a 2 day rush. It pained me to drive by without stopping in the last years. Looking forward to more photos. :)

iceman
18-07-2007, 10:19 AM
Thanks guys. A few more photos have been posted here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=22159).

More to come!

Terry B
18-07-2007, 11:06 AM
Here is some info about the only radio dish near siding springs
http://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/mopra/
It doesn't have a visitors centre. The main scopes are ~120 km further north out of Narrabri - see http://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/