ya just can't do anything with a yellow crest on a cold nite - can ya
good nite - good company - not so bad seeing either
my cousin the Emu was out and about strutting her stuff quite visibly
our first nite at the pony club field indeed showed promise
a couple of lights as mentioned by Mike can be screened out or overcome
the surface was flat and solid (after a bit of recent rain)
large area to set up in and low tree line make for a great horizon view in all directions
looking at google earth it is 780 feet above sea level
we noticed flashes to the east early on in the evening which turned out to be a storm out to sea and as mike said a bit of light polution low to the south - probably from Sydney
I witnessed the fireball with Mike - magnificent!
probably another dozen or more lesser shooters during the nite
had a bit of a look at the swan nebula for the first time and a few peaks through Mike's scope - made for a satisfying evenings viewing
Andrew and I , indeed stayed to keep the balaclavered boy company until he was satisfied with his photographic efforts.
needless to say I won't be rushing in to astro photography - stick to the Dob and simple viewing for a while me thinks
Andrew helped "H" dismantle his 3 legged Beastie and we locked the gate at 3am and returned the key
Did I mention Jakob? - think he was very happy about arriving in the daylight hours and having a bit of a look round and enjoyed his nites viewing
the "iceman" didn't live up to his name and went home early complaining of cold toes (sorry Mike)
must admit though, while i was keeping the boys company i was sat in a chair with a blanket round me - it did get quite cold
I'd like to take this oppertunity to thank you Geoff for all your efforts in securing the pony field for us.
In organising it via the people in charge of it, and going out to report on it for us and finally getting the key to open and close up the field.
only too glad i could help Andrew
and no thanks needed
well not to me anyway
Local identities and custodians, Reg Bennet and Peter Comensoli were instrumental in securing use of the site for us.
I merely asked Reg if he new of somewhere on the mountain suitable for us to use and he delivered the goods
the local IIS group still has somewhere to gather each month and enjoy some viewing and each others company and that's all that matters
As a few of you know some of us headed to Mogo Creek where we figured the skies would be a little darker. Apart from the dew, conditions were pretty good out there.
Just wanted to pass on my little story of excitement that occured on the way out to Mogo Creek.
I was heading out to Mogo Creek along George Downs Drive at About 8pm. Between Central Mangrove and the turnoff to Paintball Place I had spotted a large amount of fauna on or beside the road including:
2 Rabbits, a possum, a wombat, a wallaby and a fox.
I thought, "Geez there is a lot of fauna out tonite, don't usually see all that much on that short section of road."
I continued driving and about 5 kms past the turnoff to Paintball there was a skittled Wallaby "all over the road", which was going to present a driving hazard on the return trip. I decided to note the position using the odometer so that I could avoid it on the way home and advise the other guys about it. I slowed down a bit, to about 75km/hr whilst I glanced at the odometer a couple of times to check my maths.
After I had the position noted, I gathered my driving concentration again and started to accelerate a little. I looked up and standing in the middle of the road in front of me was a couple of hundred kilos of what I thought was a "Red Deer". I slowed down and thought, "no it can't be". I looked again and thought "it is", the deer then climbed straight up a 6 foot embankment on the side of the road and disappeared into the bush. I originally thought it was a Red Deer. I called National Parks and Wildlife this morning to confirm I wasn't seeing things and the ranger advised me that it wasn't a Red Deer, but a very similar species called "Javan Rusa Deer". The Javan Rusa Deer grow to about 200kg and stand 7 feet tall at the top of the head. He mentioned they rarely went near the road but were very prolific in the area and almost pest proportions to native flora. The Ranger mentioned that there was used to be a deer farm in the area and about 6 years ago the owner just "opened the gates" and let them all go.
A little bit of excitement for the night, but it also indicates how carefull you need to be whilst driving in this area at night.
