Where to start?
My wife 'Alison' and I took a weeks holiday and stayed on a farm under some of Australia best dark skys.
We stayed in wonderful quaint wooden house, originally built as a school for the children who grew up on this farm. (photograhed with the milky Way streaming from it's peaked roof)
Pilliga Pottery is located in the beautiful Pilliga forests just North of Coonabarabran on the Western Slopes of Central New South Wales - Australia.
They have all the facilities you can't live without and some of those that you can. But best of all they have pitch black surroundings, plenty of room to set up telescopes, go for bushwalks, bird watching, swimming, or just plain lazing around.
And of course only moments away from the Siding Springs Observatory and less than an hours drive to The Australian Telescope (Radio Telescopes).
I had originally planned to use my telescopes with a mount lent to me by Poita but it turned out that due to my naivity my C11 had a vixen dovetail and not a Losmandy style dovetail so in the end I couldn't use it with the mount I borrowed.
I spent my evenings wondering the properties paddocks and bush trails with my tripod and camera thinking 'what could I photograph next and taking in the surroundings'.
I finally found some time to read a book I'd been wanting to start for over a year 'The Black Hole War' by Leonard Susskind, a very interesting discussion and development on Black Hole Physics.
As for the Barkala Farm I definately plan on returning in August/September for our winter skys. Discussions with the owners resulted in the idea of making some permanent concrete slabs for future Amatuer Astronomers who visit to place their mounts on rather than plonking them on the dirt.
Plus they teach you how to spin that wheel, the pottery wheel that is, lots of fun, check it out!
http://www.pilligapottery.com.au/
High resolution versions are on my flickr page below.
More happy snaps coming soon
Thanks for looking
) ATM.
