[samos101 (Sam Monea)]

Hey guys, been ages since i've visited. Originally, I purchased a telescope with high hopes of using it regularly. Being in Melbourne, and not getting out and about enough, it eventually just gathered dust (that pesky light pollution).

It was advised on these very forums a great alternative would be a good pair of binoculars that is easily portable, then heading North. The binoculars were great. I sold them years ago when I was going through some financial difficulty, but I am alive and kicking and in a position to get myself another good set.

In the meantime, I've been daydreaming about turning a shipping container into a cabin of sorts (or if this wasn't feasible, I'd go the caravan route).

I was wondering, what spot would be best to take on such a project? I guess the issue is that I am trying to kill two birds with one stone.

I want dark skies to be able to stargaze, but I also like scenic areas (mountainous, coastal and the like).

After traveling the south of New Zealand, I was absolutely gobsmacked. It is a beautiful part of the world. I have a feeling Tasmania would have a similar feel, and I am planning a trip there soon to do some scouting for nice spots. The only issue with going to somewhere like Tasmania is it takes a little more planning and I can't just up and go on a Friday to spend a weekend away.

So I started looking at potential spots within Victoria that is within driving distance (I don't mind driving 4-5 hours, that's a meditation for me).

Over the weekend, I drove up to Heathcote to check out the scenery and see whereabouts the dark site was (couldn't quite find it, but was nearby and appeared fenced off). Had a general drive around town, it was nice but nothing groundbreaking in terms of scenery (not that I saw anyway!)

I do plan to also check out Snake Valley as that appears also to be a good spot, but I am only going up during the day (if I went at night, I'd likely stay overnight). Just scouting at the moment!

So my long-winded question is coming: if you had a choice of location to build a cabin, or take a caravan, where would you do it?

I also plan to do drives further east along the coast (Lakes Entrance, Metung and the like) but I feel some of these spots will have a higher amount of light pollution but might have the scenery I am after!)

The other spots I plan to check out is throughout the Victorian high country for good spots - again, places like Bright and Mansfield could harbor a substantial amount of light pollution, and they're probably costly as well if I were looking for a small slice of land for a cabin!)

So, where would you build a cabin and why?

Cheers guys,
Sam