Hey Michael
to IIS!!
I'm in Melbourne too, and the one bit of advice I can give you is not to get too disheartened if you can't see as many stars in the sky on your planisphere or planetarium program like Stellarium.
In the west, seeing can be hampered by the bright lights of industry, and nights these last few weeks have been intermittently stormy, or hazy. Most nights, I find I can only see the very brightest stars in the sky, because of my close proximity to the city and the bright lights of docklands and the Westgate Bridge.
Sometimes I just enjoy picking out the different colours of the stars, and looking for the occasional (giant) Messier objects which are bright enough to be seen in my urban sky. Planets are pretty easy too, and I'm still new enough to find the moon a fascinating subject.
+1 to Snake Valley for some gorgeous dark skies and great company, but really, even from the fringes of Melbourne you can get some great views.
Mishku
