robrj
Member
Posts: 248
home town/country: Escondido, CA
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Post by robrj on Nov 18, 2016 19:25:32 GMT
I have a possible Australia trip coming up. My sister-in-law is going to marry an Aussie and move to Australia. The wedding will be there so my wife and I are planning to attend. It will be my first time in the southern hemisphere so I'd like some recommendations for must see objects. I'll probably be bringing my SLT mount and my 70mm travel scope and a camera (ZWO ASI185MC or Ultrastar).
He lives in the Gold Coast area which is where the wedding will be held. The time frame will be in March, April or May depending on the requirements for her getting her visa.
She met him on a river cruise in Europe back in September. He came to the States for a few weeks and attended my Stepson's wedding and came for a visit to my house. We didn't think she was interested in getting married again. She hasn't been married for quite a while and seemed uninterested in dating. She seemed much happier with him and he seems like a super nice guy. My wife and I got married almost 7 years ago after having dated for only 8 months. What was funny is she was skeptical and asked "What's the rush?"
Also, if you can give me a few ideas on some must see sites to visit, that would be awesome.
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Post by davy on Nov 18, 2016 20:19:12 GMT
Lol,,came to the right place rob,,we have fine Australian gentlemen on the forum and I'm shure they will keep you right on where to go,, enjoy the trip when it comes,,
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Post by howie1 on Nov 18, 2016 22:52:18 GMT
Hi Rob, I live just an hour or so up the road in Brisbane, and happy to catch up and take you out touring. Retired so no time problems for me. Great spots just in the hinterland from the Gold Coast with waterfalls and rain forest walks. I'm also thinking a circular day trip from the GC (Gold Coast) out to the Scenic Rim a couple of hours from the GC... visit a winery or two, nice historic country towns, great scenery, and most important of all we could end up with wine and cheese at Lake Wyaralong where I do a lot of dark'ish skies EAA so you can bring along your slt in the back of the car. Brissie has some nice places too ... Stradbroke Island, Mt Cootha botanic gardens, various zoo's with obligatory Koalas, Roo's and such, and then there's the Bayside where I live. All manner of places ... posted a link down below to some of my fave still photo's I've shot over the years around here and a tad further North (around whats called the Dinosaur trail about an hours flight and then followed by several hours driving lol).
Are you going to stay put at the Gold Coast or take the opportunity to go to Uluru (Ayres Rock), Great Barrier Reef, Sydney, etc? If interested in the strong links between Aussie and US history, then the state of Victoria has wonderful scenery, 1850's gold rush towns, paddle wheelers on the Murray River, and the Cobb & Co stagecoach links to the States.
Anyway ... some local scenery in the shots below ...
and then there's my previously posted video's of fast image acquisition (single 30 sec) out at Wyaralong - search through the posts on AVF.
cheers
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Post by ChrisV on Nov 19, 2016 2:21:18 GMT
If you plan on dropping down to Sydney let me know.
Howie. An eclectic collection of stuff - tourism astro and hotrods ? What's the galaxy cluster after the sombrero.
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Post by howie1 on Nov 19, 2016 11:32:09 GMT
Yeah Chris ... anything to keep me poor! That's the Markarian chain ... link to flickr photo below. Hover over points in the photo as astrometry.net "tagged" the objects. Heaps of galaxies in that frame. IC3386 is just visible - mag 16. Unmodded 700d. As is a stray light "curve" bouncing off the inside of the newt. www.flickr.com/photos/9440349@N08/27065851885/in/album-72157668506554785/
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Post by ChrisV on Nov 19, 2016 12:02:24 GMT
Now you say I realise what it is. Have viewed before but never looked that good.
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Post by Dragon Man on Nov 19, 2016 17:36:00 GMT
Rob, I was going to suggest Howie, but he already volunteered LOL! You'll love your visit here. It's a fantastic country. We like it
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robrj
Member
Posts: 248
home town/country: Escondido, CA
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Post by robrj on Nov 20, 2016 15:57:29 GMT
Wow Howie! That would be awesome. We'll let you know when our dates are more concrete. We'll probably keep near Gold Coast for this week as many of our family will be there as well. But the tour and EAA session sounds awesome. Also, since my Sister-in-law will be living there, I can foresee more trips there in the future.
I'm looking forward to the trip (but not that flight, haha!).
We have a regular car show that runs every Friday from April to October called "Cruising Grand" (the street is Grand Avenue). It's walking distance from our house. Cars from all around the San Diego area frequent it. They close down the streets around Grand every Friday (about 3/4 to 1 mile depending on the week). The first and last dates are the biggest. They usually close the entire street have cars crammed in the whole length.
San Diego is pretty far south in the States (near the Mexico border). The furthest south I've been able to see is Omega Centauri and Centaurus A. They're about 9 degrees above the horizon during June.
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Post by howie1 on Nov 20, 2016 21:08:32 GMT
You're a tad further North latitude than I am South. But our cities are mostly on the coast so only an hours drive and the skies are pretty dark. If there's something you really want to image let us know when you are here and we'll take out the approp scope in my "quiver", or borrow one from one of the astro clubs members.
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robrj
Member
Posts: 248
home town/country: Escondido, CA
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Post by robrj on Jan 9, 2017 20:57:06 GMT
Our Australia trip has been put on hold. They decided to get married in the States instead (more family here I guess).
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Post by ChrisV on Jan 9, 2017 22:25:54 GMT
No Eta carina for you !
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robrj
Member
Posts: 248
home town/country: Escondido, CA
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Post by robrj on Jan 9, 2017 23:25:11 GMT
Not yet. But now I can at least control the timing of my visit!
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Post by Dragon Man on Jan 10, 2017 11:30:01 GMT
That's a bummer! Feel welcome to come on down anyway. After the wedding of course You'd be welcome here Anyone with a famous name is always welcome
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Post by howie1 on Jan 10, 2017 18:04:26 GMT
You are most welcome anytime Rob. Cheers and hope all goes well for your Sister-In-Law and new hubby.
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