The next day was a drive day again. “B” had found a place in Lakes Entrance along the southern coast of Australia for us to stop at for the night on our way to Phillip Island. It allowed for a not long drive. Along the way we stopped in a small town to grab lunch. I was a little concerned that it would be another hour plus after what had happened on our way to Coonabarabran, but we stopped in a bakery and they had meat pies and other baked goods. I got a beef curry pie and it was very good. The ladies had similar meat pies as well. The desserts we got were only ok, but it was a good stop for lunch. We then finished our drive, found our place, and then headed to dinner. We ate at a hotel in town that was suggested by the Airbnb host. It was ok food. Nothing special. Before dinner we walked to the beach and thought it may be nice to walk back to after dinner. I was so glad we did that. There isa ridge between the town and the beach that you go over, and once you were on the beach it was super dark. And that meant – the night sky. It was crystal clear out, no moon, and so YES, we got to see the entire southern hemisphere night sky. So, bucket list checked off for me. Southern cross – easy to see. Milky Way galaxy – easy to see. Large and Small Magellanic Clouds – EASY TO SEE! It was amazing. Then I decided to try my phone to see if I could get a picture. And I could. Then “B” tried it too with her phone and got better pictures. Here are some of the pictures I took with our phones. Those fuzzy things you see are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and the long section is the Milky Way.
These were all 20 or 30s exposures with the phones propped up on a wall on the beach. I am very surprised how well the phones did.