Hi all,
I just got back from Coonabarabran last night and I'm slowly going through the many photohraphs I took over the last eight days. We found a great place to stay Pilliga Pottery 'Barkala Farm' 20mins out from AAT, I will be posting some photos of the farm in the nightscape section.
The good news is that the Observatory has been reopened if only for workers for the time being and the public will be able to start visiting in the next 6 weeks. This is as close as I got to seeing it. I'm just glad that it's running again and the people of Coona have some good news.
Seeing the devastation caused by the fires to the Warrumbungles only weeks after the fact was quite an experience, earie and beautiful at the same time. Driving past mountains, hills, bush and HOMES that have been completely destroyed by fire sends a chill down your back. We just kept thinking how frightning it must have been?
I heard that some wildlife are still being put down due to injuries/burns to bodies and paws etc ...
Apart from the coolest mail box I've
ever seen, in the distance is Siding Spring Mountain and the AAT Dome. The mountain and its surrounds are completely burnt, the biggest fears were landslides and whether it was safe for workers, visitors and of course the equipment to keep the Observatory there. Apparently they were given the OK last Thursday... a sigh of relief.
A better resolution image can be seen and downloaded from my flickr page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70960426@N04/
Cheers.
Carlos.
