Victoria: good dark sites?

[skyoyster]

My husband and I are making a long weekend out of the Melbourne Cup holiday (yay), and we're planning on taking the 'scope out for a weekend of camping and viewing. We're in Melbourne; thoughts so far are either the Grampians or somewhere in the High Country, like maybe Buller. Thought I'd ask here whether anyone had recommendations? We're obviously looking for somewhere that will give us good views, as well as being good for camping.

Thanks!

[taminga16]

Hi Alexandra,

Central Victoria would more than meet your requirements, dark skies, lots to see during the day including many old gold diggings and it will be warmer than the mountains.

Regards.

Greg.

[dannat]

both grampians & high country would be fine..do you want to be near anything in particular..or have something to do during the day

[skyoyster]

Thanks for the replies. We're keen to have *some* thing to do during the day; I think he would be in heaven if it were near somewhere he could go mountain biking! But it's not a huge dealbreaker. Where in central Vic...?

[xstream]

Alexandra,
Mount Buffalo is well worth considering it meets all your criteria and as an added bonus it's brilliant skies at altitude and an easy 3hr drive from Melb.

http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=151

[Wavytone]

From memory there's a huge cleared lookout on top of Mt Macedon, should be fine for observing. Also in the Grampians last time I was there I can recall a couple of promising spots that likewise would be dark, high and dry but i didn't have a scope with me.

The Kiewa valley around Bright is my pick though - on two occasions I've observed from a weekender in Wandiligong (near Bright) while paragliding by day; very dark, the seeing was good but lots of dew where I was. If you find a place in parkland the dew should be tolerable. In Bright (nearby) there is the rail trail (cycling), a nice river which is good for trout (fly fishing) or the kids can paddle/lilo... and about 90 wineries within an hours drive, not to mention paragliding/hang gliding and anything one usually does...

The north end of Porepunka airstrip should be OK too, if you don't want to go up Mt Buffalo.

[skyoyster]

I do love the Bright area, and Buffalo - thanks for the reminder guys! Guess we'll also have to think about where might not be overrun by other mad keen campers... especially those ones that like their generators... :eyepop:

[AstralTraveller]

I've camped at Mt Buffalo and it is very nice. There are plenty of walks for the day (though I don't think you can mountain bike). The camping ground is pretty good and there is a picnic spot just near the camping area and next to the lake you could use. Its mostly sheltered from the lights in the campground and has picnic tables you could put your gear on. There are too many trees to observe from you camping spot. When I was there in February the skies were great.

The only issue is that you have to book ahead at busy times and so you may not get in at short notice.

[mithrandir]

Beechworth maybe? We were there a week ago and it was pretty dark once you got away from the streetlights. Lots of history to the area.

[dannat]

the ASV has their dark site outside of heathcote - lots of wineries if you like that kind of thing
Snake valley is also a dark site outisde of ballarat

[taminga16]

Alexandra,

Maldon would make a great base, it is a beautiful old town (1850's and largely intact due to it's classification by The National Trust). Mt Tarrengower is very close by and would provide a good mountain bike challenge,
Check out the website, www.maldon.org.au

I have to admit my bias, I am fortunate enough to have a house there.

Regards.

Greg.

P.S. If you need any further information feel free to PM.

[bojan]

I am following up this thread with interest.. because I plan to move to country in the next couple of years, and Seymour was ranking high on my list of places to move to. Daylesford was also high but prices of real estate are 50% higher..

What I found interesting when examining http://www.astronomyforum.net/astronomy-locations/australia/ is, Daylesford is significantly DARKER than Seymour !!!

Not easy to believe because Seymour is much smaller town...

Also, I think the overlay on that website is not accurate, it seems it is shifted 10 km to the west...

Any comments on this?

[Paddy]

Hi Bojan,

Daylesford is expensive, cloudy and wet. And busy. North of the divide around Castlemaine is drier, less expensive less inundated by day trippers on weekends and has a very satisfying environment and culture. Good bush, good food and coffee and good dark skies.

I'm not biased... Oh and between 60 and 90 minutes to Melbourne by an excellent train service.

[bojan]

Pat, thanks for this tip :thumbsup:
I will investigate .. Train (besides darkness) is surely one of the most important factors...

[bojan]

According to this website, Yea is very dark.. And so is Eildon and Alexandra.
Anyone has any experience with this area?
It doesn't seem to have a train service..

[astro_nutt]

Speaking of Heathcote, try some of the goodies from Gaffneys Bakery, then take a trip to the Mt Ida lookout, just a few kays North of Heathcote on the way to Echuca.

[bojan]

OK, now I have a very specific question:

Are there any measurements data available, that show the LP level throughout country Victoria?

If I were doing this, I would take a stack of, say, 10 minute exposures at ISO1600, F4, with camera pointed at zenith at every site I visit, at moonless, clear night .. with the same camera of course (and preferably the same lens, but this is not mandatory.. because F-number is a critical parameter here)

The background illumination visible on photos would immediately tell us which site/town is better in terms of LP.. then the other selection criteria could be applied (like the presence of excellent bakeries and coffee shops :-) )

BTW.. now I remember someone on this forum already asked this question couple of years ago... Anything came out of this?
Or was it on some other forum??

[DavidU]

Bojan, it you need accurate sky quality readings have a look what this device can do............
taos tsl237

[GrampianStars]

Ahhh! VIC. The way I see it is It's based on how far You are willing to travel:-
i.e. 2 1/2 hours out of Melbourne will get you to Port Campbell, Dunkeld, The Grampians, Stawell, Charlton, Echuca, Wangaratta, Mt. Bullar, Sale, Yarram, Wilsons Prom, All nice and very very dark sky zones May 7+ visible! some light polution near 5deg of horizons & from some nearby towns. :thumbsup:

Closer in say 1 1/2 hours out of Melbourne will get you to Castlemaine, Seymour, Yea, Marysville, Warragul, Wonthagi, All nice and very dark sky zones some light polution near 15deg of horizons & from nearby towns. :thumbsup:

Closer in say 1 hour out of Melbourne will get you to Snake Valley, Macedon, Wallan, Healsville, Phillip Island still some good dark sky available. some light polution near 25 deg of horizons & from nearby towns.:thumbsup:

You'll need to weigh up the equipment taken, power availability, set up time and a return trip V an overnight stay (accommodation) required. :question:

[bojan]

David, this looks good..
However, I feel the camera method is better, because more people (well, almost everyone) have it, and we all know what would be the goal of such a study... so the data reduction would be much easier task to do.
And nobody did it recently (the overlay from Italian site is not accurate.. and the data is from 2001, so not relevant any more.

So, now it is official: Lets do this study properly, and consistently.. across the whole Australia.

As I mentioned earlier:
The test would be 3-8 exposures with (digital) camera pointed at zenith, 1, 5. 10 minutes, at ISO1600, with 100mm lens @F5.6, during clear, moonless night.
Processed in DSS, darks subtracted as per usual (to get rid of camera noise)
Lets see how dark Australian cities/towns/country really are :-)