Dear SPSP attendees,
We are looking forward to seeing you all and just wanted to make the timely
reminder to please drive carefully when going to and from the star party.
Kangaroos, wombats and other wildlife and stock can be a hazard if they venture
out onto the road and they can appear quite suddenly at any time,
day or night and sometimes faster than you can humanly react, even if you are well
below the posted speed limit. In particular, be vigilant in the afternoons around dusk
and during the evenings. Attendees in the past have hit wildlife resulting in very
expensive vehicle damage.
Please also drive very slowly along the gravel road to the property and in
particular dead slow past one of the neighboring properties where the house
is close to the road as dust from hundreds of vehicle movements in a day
can be an obvious problem for these neighbours.
If you haven't registered, then you can register on site. Ignore what the weather
reports say what is happening in Sydney or Mudgee. Ilford regulars know that
Ilford has its own set of rules with respect the weather. We've seen situations
where it is teeming rain down at where the old Ilford Roadhouse is yet be
perfectly crystal clear a few minutes away at Wiruna ... and vice versa!
You can get all four seasons in a day, so bring a hat and sun glasses but
also bring additional clothing as if you were spending a weekend down at the
snow. As has been noted above, it can get very cold at night.
Don't own a scope? No problem. There will be scopes for sky tours on site
including some 25" aperture scopes and there are plenty of other attendees always
happy to share the views.
And finally, even if you don't do anything else, be sure to attend the first
guest speakers talk on the Friday afternoon.
Best Regards
Gary Kopff
Mt. Kuring-Gai