Time for another big drive day. We had to get from Brisbane to Coonabarabran. Coonabarabran is a dark skies area and is known for observatories. I had found a quirky Airbnb that had had an observatory included with it. So, I signed us up for it, and now was the time to go. BUT the weather was not on our side. The drive was 8 hours, not including stops, and it took us longer for 2 reasons. We stopped for lunch in a small town and we ordered food at a nice little place. It took nearly an hour for us to get our food. The food was tasty, but it took way too long to get. Oh well. That happens, and thankfully we didn’t have day plans. We were hoping to get to the Airbnb in time to be able to do some star watching. BUT the rest of the drive was mostly filled with pouring rain. That added some travel time as well. The rain had stopped by the time we got to Coonabarabran, but it was very cloudy. So, no star watching, but the owner also had a 6m planetarium (converted observatory). So, we got bundled up and got to watch a few shows he had. It was very cold. I think the temperature was around 2-3 (Celsius that is) outside and inside the planetarium was about the same. He had a space heater, but it didn’t add much to the warmth. We all enjoyed it and then headed to bed.
After the late night in the planetarium we got up for an 8:30 breakfast that the owners of the BnB prepared. It was a very nice breakfast of eggs, greens, ham and sausage, a fruit platter, and really good bread. I think I ate 3 pieces of bread with honey and butter on it. We had a nice conversation with them as well while eating. Then it was off for the day. We went to Siding Springs Observatory first. It was cold and foggy, and we weren’t sure what were going to be able to see, but thankfully the weather cleared enough for us to see where we were going and to see the structure itself. We went through the very nicely laid out, though small, informational area regarding telescopes, and where this observatory fit in with global telescopes. They had a bunch of info about the Very Large Telescope (VLT) being built in Chile, and how it was so much larger than the 4.3m telescope that was the largest one at their facility. The University of Arizona is making all the mirrors for that telescope in Chile. I got to see that manufacturing process one time while in Tucson, that was cool. But I digress, sorry. We were able to wander up to the telescope and see it. It was a huge telescope. The biggest one I have ever seen. We stopped by the gift shop, and I saw a beanie style hat and decided to buy that for myself. I own another beanie type hat from the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and I thought it was a fun (and practical) souvenir to get.
After that we drove a bit further and went to Warrumbungle NP. We did a couple of hikes in the area. We were surprised by seeing wild goats along the trail. That was mentioned to us by the BnB hosts, but it was still a surprise for us. They were very hairy. During our 8 miles of hiking the N P we also saw kangaroos and birds. We were hoping for a wombat or koala, but no go. Then we headed back to town and went to dinner at a highly rated (according to google) Chinese food restaurant. Well, it was pretty bad. The décor was very nice, but the food was bland, small servings, a bit expensive, and just generally not that great. It was a disappointment, we like good Chinese food. Oh well. Then it was back to the Airbnb and praying for clear skies. Well… That didn’t happen really. There were patches of clear skies so the owner got our his 16” Dobsonian telescope and we got to see Venus and the moon and a couple of clusters, but nothing that was Southern Hemisphere only things. There were just too many clouds. We stayed out for a while hoping the clouds would clear up enough, but after 45 minutes to an hour it was pretty evident that the clouds were going to stay. So, again no go on seeing anything with the telescope. Too bad. I was disappointed, but I also know you can’t control or guess the weather months in advance when planning a trip like this. It just wasn’t meant to be. We had a great time with the people, and the area was lovely. I was hoping to see the large or small magellanic cloud (2 satellite galaxies you to ours you can only see in the southern hemisphere), but that didn’t occur (yet…). It was time to get to bed, we had to head out the next morning.
