Hi Malcolm & All,
Well done on finding NGC 253 -- it is a very beautiful galaxy. Over time you will get more and more familiar with that pattern of triangles between Beta Ceti & Alpha Scultporis. It is one of the most easily observed galaxies in binoculars south of the celestial equator. From a dark site, I've had no problems seeing it in my old 8x30mm finder. There have acually been a few scattered reports of it being detected naked eye from ultra-dark skies. I've tried but never succeeded.
NGC 288 is a nice cluster too. From a dark sky (like Snake-Valley no doubt) you will see it very well resolved in your 'scope. As you note it is one of the least compressed globulars. The uncompressed G.Cs numerically dominate the sky. A very large majority of the highly compressed globulars (eg M2, M15, NGC 104, M62, NGC 2808 etc) are intrinsically very bright and massive compared to the general population of G.Cs.
Enjoy your star party -- Wish I was going!
Best,
Les D