Clay
Couple of things, the ASV (Astronomical Society of Vic) has a dark sky site at Heathcote, which should be very close to you. You must be a member to access but once in you can go there at any time. ASV website is
www.asv.org.au The ASV also runs a number of camps each year.
In addition to the club as Snake Valley, we also run bi annual camps. they are run under a separate umbrella but keep an eye on info here on IIS when they are coming up. If you want to be added to the email list, send me a PM with your email address and I will add you to the list. Our next camp is in October.
On your scope issues, newtonians like this are made for visual use. They usually will not reach focus with a camera as the focal plane is inside or very close to the focuser and the sensor on the camera in inside the body of the camera. Skywatcher brand scopes I understand are designed with a focuser that can accommodate this, but I have a feeling that Saxon ones do not. Did the retailer tell you that the scope is suitable for imaging? If so I would be going back to them and getting the low down on how to do it.
Generally speaking, an EQ5 mount is not robust enough for imaging with an 8" scope. It will be OK for short exposures of bright objects (the moon, planets, maybe M42) but will struggle with any deep sky work that requires long exposures. All is not lost however! If you have a DSLR and can get pretty good polar alignment, you could mount your DSLR on the mount directly without the scope at all and use a camera lens to do some wide fields. If you remove the dovetail plate from the scope and attach it to the camera it should work fine. Try using a 50mm prime lens if you have one, or a zoom lens at about 50mm can also yield results.
Malcolm