Hi Trader,
I regularly go to the Western Sydney Amateur Astronomy Group
www.wsaag.org dark sky nights at Linden in the Blue Mountains (about 60km from my home in Kellyville, straight up the M4 and GT Western HWY) to the observatory there and that site is phenomenally dark where you can see the Milky Way glow in all its glory with the naked eye!
They have a number of club scopes that you can view with as well as a monster DOB that comes out on occasion. All walks of experience are welcome, just contact the club members such as Rodney Moulder etc on the website. Casual observers can donate $5 per night to rock up and check out the gear / views from members and visitors and its really good value to have a look at what each type of telescope has to offer.
Give it a look, I dont leave home to go to a dark sky site unless its to a WSAAG night.!!
Cheers
Chris