[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Originally Posted by declan.mullen

I've never tried to see meteors before, so I don't know how dark the skies need to be to see any of these Geminids. I read a post that suggested it was necessary to be 100km+ out of Melbourne central to see meteors. Seems like a long way.

I'm in Nunawading (eastern Melbourne suburb, about 25km from city center). I understand that further out from the city will be darker and darker is better, however how far out of Melbourne will I need to go to see any of these Geminids meteors with the naked eye ?

Eg is Coldstream (about 50km from city center) far enough out ?

I ask because I want to take my young kids and I want them to be able to see something, but at the same time I want to minimise their travel time.

Thanks,
Declan

You'll see more from Coldstream. To get a good view, you need the view to the north a non-light polluted region. Since you are effectively inside the bubble looking out (even from Coldstream), you will still lose some, but it will be better than Nunawading.
Here’s a light pollution map that you might find useful.
http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html

That said, you should still be able to see some of the brighter ones from Nunawading. I'm well inside the red zone (Balwyn) and still see the occasional meteor.