[Wavytone]

Adrian by all means check out BrownTown - its probably dark enough and may be OK. However in the days when I used a C8 roaming around I tried ovals in Leura Blackheath and Katoomba, and my personal experiences on ovals weren't great because the microclimate on them is unfavourable - they invariably have black soil brought in, and they're watered (to make the grass grow) which spells cold and frosts (the heat radiates away fast on black soil) and really bad dew.

It was far better to be on sandy soil or even better a sandstone outcrop which don't radiate the heat away at night and don't hold water so the dew is negligible. The airstrip was an excellent example of this.

There are a few places I reckon deserve at least going to for a look, even if you don't decide to set up and move on to the next; something to do on a night that is otherwise a bit spoiled by wind or cloud.

1. Continue on the dirt road left past the airfield to the end, this comes out at a clearing just east of Govetts Leap waterfall. The distance is trivial and if anything its further from Mellow and Blackheath so the local lights won't be an issue.

This one I think really deserves to be checked out in daylight though I suspect the road is in good shape, it looks OK on Google at least.

The only concern I'd have is whether you might get fog forming locally on a still winter night, as this is pretty close to the creek that feeds the waterfall.

2. The end of the Mt Hay Road out of north Leura, Google StreetView (!) indicates its good in all directions. Need to check the condition of the road first in daylight as the last time I drove that road was in 2004 and it was 4WD stuff, definitely unsuitable for 2WD cars. While its a bit of a drive, this site is so far into the national park the extra distance should make it comparable to observing from Mt Banks.

3. Mt Banks (Bells Line of Rd from North Richmond). Turn off the highway at the NPWS sign on the left onto a dirt road, when you see a concrete water tank on the left hand side there's a carpark on the righthand side, used to be quite good for observing. I haven't been there at night though since 2010.

Expect to be visited by the park ranger at night BTW as he does patrol this area for idiots.

4. Mt Blackheath. Hargraves has indeed been pretty much ruined by the idiots with searchlights at the Hydro.

While I have also used table rock at Kings Tableland before, I would advise against it as its not suitable for a group with more than a couple of cars and its also seriously dangerous at night as there is a huge sheer cliff close by with no safety measures whatsoever.

Another thought also comes to mind - to approach one of the landowners on Shipley Plateau that has a sizeable empty paddock and ask whether an arrangement could be made to obtain access occasionally.

Personally I'll wait til spring...