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Coen and pgc hunter have made a good point about Mars being too low in the sky for us southern observers.
Assuming the Earth's atmosphere is around 100km thick, the actual line of sight thickness at various angles above the horizon is
0 degrees --- 11 times the vertical thickness
5 degrees --- 7 times the vertical thickness
9 degrees --- 5 times the vertical thickness
18 degrees --- 3 times the vertical thickness
30 degrees --- 2 times the vertical thickness
40 degrees --- 1.5 times the vertical thickness
Where I am, Mars is currently about 30 degrees above the horizon when at the meridian (north-south line). This means double the atmospheric width for viewing.
Regards, Rob.
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