Thanks for the input from those that contributed, everyone made extremely valid points & it gave me pause for thought in terms of what I was trying to achieve.
I ended up purchasing a Meade 5000 80mm APO from the IIS classifieds & have a skyview Az/Alt mount on the way together with some eyepieces from Andrews.
Whilst I know that an 80mm APO will not capture everything that is out there, after considerable research, I am satisfied that it will capture enough things to keep me busy for the next few years at least & it will be a very handy rig for an extended trip we have coming at Christmas which will include some time in very dark skies between Cairns & Adelaide. Much to my wife's chagrin, there will be room for the golf clubs, the scope, our luggage and the teenager
I have been reading through 'Turn Left at Orion' & whilst aimed predominantly at the Northern Hemisphere it does contain information about the Southern Hemisphere skies; most importantly to me, it's aimed at small scope users. The section on Southern skies will be my starting point for observations.
Should have it all together by the end of this week; salivating at the thought of first light... of course it will probably be overcast & raining
