Fw: Re: 2010 Deepest South Texas Star Safari

  For all those who might be thinking of going to Australia for observing in March of 2010 here is a recent e-mail to me from Anne Adkins, the trip coordinator.  It contains a lot of useful information.
  
  Dennis

--- On Mon, 7/6/09, Anne Adkins <anne@No-Spam> wrote:

From: Anne Adkins <anne@No-Spam>
Subject: Re: 2010 Deepest South Texas Star Safari
To: "Dennis Beckley" <dbeckley94510@No-Spam>
Cc: OzSky@No-Spam
Date: Monday, July 6, 2009, 9:22 AM

Hi Dennis,
I've been following some of the email on the Obsession listserv and was delighted to see your rekindled interest in attending the star party in Australia. Most observers tend to agree that the March through May period is probably the best <<first view>> of the Southern Skies, although there's a lot to be said for October/November as well when the skies seem even darker (no darned Milky Way lighting up the sky like a neon sign!) and both the clouds so nicely placed. What we hope to do next year is repeat the star party we've been doing for the last 6 years, on March 12-19, 2010, and then hold another less formal star party in the Sept/Oct/Nov timeframe for alums who want a shot at the southern skies in a different season. Obviously, you don't have to be an alum to attend the latter, but we are unlikely to plan trips to Siding Springs or Narrabri or Parks -- folks can do this on their own if they like. 
We have typically held the star party at Coonabarabran and are currently scheduled for the March 2010 star party at the Warrumbungles Mountain Motel, but we are studying alternative locations, possibly to try in the fall.
The way the star party has operated the last three years is to have attendees arrive in Sydney a few days early (usually 3), during which time we have organized optional day tours to see the city, old Sydney Observatory, Opera House, Zoo and/or Featherdale Wildlife Preserve, and Blue Mountains. We typically have a group orientation dinner the evening before we leave for Coonabarabran to give everyone a chance to socialize a bit before the observing stint. It's fine if you want to skip these tours and do your own thing after the star party -- we have mainly arranged this to give people the opportunity to get over jet lag and acclimate to their new environment as well as to get to know traveling companions. The tour numbers are small, usually between 9 to 18. The star parties themselves have been composed of 18 to 25 to 36 north americans over the past three years with about 10 Aussies thrown into the mix on each year. So, it's a nice intimate group for observing and knocking about the Warrumbungles area.
You can either fly or take the train to Dubbo at which point you pick up a rental car for the week and drive the additional hour to Coona. Alternatively, you can drive from Sydney to Coona. Timewise and pricewise, it's not much difference between the train and the drive from Sydney; it's more whether you feel comfortable navigating out of the big city on the wrong side (well, the left side) of the road. Once you're out in the countryside, driving is pretty straightforward. The train also gives you the option of sleeping for a few hours so you'll be ready to hit the scopes that night. But, it's really up to you. 
This whole trip is loosely structured -- we have tried to make it as easy as possible for each attendee to do whatever he/she wants to do in terms of time spent in Australia, optional side trips, and so on. There are instructions on the website (www.ozsky.org) about how to book the train or rent a car. (Just go to the website, then click on Links -- all the info is not up to date for next year as plans are still in progress, but the info on how to book a train or a car are still valid.) You can book at the group hotel in Sydney, or not. The observing hotel will already be booked and we will take care of assigning everyone a room. Couples will get their own room so no worries there.
How many scopes are brought out for use depends of course on the number of people in attendance. Possible equipment includes a new 30-inch dob, two 25's, five 18's, the new 22-inch binocular telescope, giant fujinon binoculars, a motorized binocular chair with joy stick, and a few other personal scopes. More equipment acquisition is in progress. Each scope has a set of quality eyepieces, but we suggest that attendees bring a favorite eyepiece or two if that's what they want to observe with. I've had people bring down their Denks with full paired sets of eyepieces -- that part is up to you. Most of the dobs run Argo. We do have Servo on the ones that our Australian hosts will be using for sky tours. I don't think I've attended one of these star parties where every individual doesn't have the opportunity to have his/her own scope for at least one evening; quite often, two people with similar interests will share throughout the week. In other words, it's not like you will be sharing a scope with a dozen other people. There is plenty of eyepiece time.
All of this has been a long preface to answering your actual questions. Yes, if you leave on 3/9, you'll arrive 3/11 and the group hotel will be available that evening. As mentioned above, you can stay wherever you like -- we typically have the group dinner at a restaurant down in the old Rocks area of Sydney, by the Bridge and near Circular Quay, so lodging in that area would be convenient. You can catch the train at Circular Quay and easily get to Central Station -- Central Station is the point at which the train leaves for Coonabarabran the morning of March 12. The group hotel I generally recommend is more economical and in the area of Central Station -- it has not yet been booked for March 2010 but I should know soon. This year, we stayed at the Travelodge Wentworth for about $125 (Australian) per night (for one couple or two people or one single).
The group dinner will be the night of March 11. The past few years, we have had this dinner at Phillip's Foote on George Street.
If you catch the train from Sydney to Dubbo, as mentioned above, you will have made a reservation for a vehicle in Dubbo which you will pick up on arrival. I believe Thrifty is actually at the train station (though somewhat pricey) while Hertz and other dealers might require a taxi fare. In any case, once you get your car, you make an easy drive to Coona and then the few km's out to the observing motel. On the day you return to Sydney, the train leaves around noon so you'll depart Coona early enough in the morning to get back to Dubbo, return your car, and secure your place on the train. If you are flying home immediately after the star party, you'll need to plan one night in Sydney and fly out the next morning, or you will find yourself leaving the star party a day early. It's almost impossible to get back to Sydney in time on the same day to catch any of the flights. You can either book a hotel near Circular Quay or Central Station and get back to the airport the next morning, or catch a cab or airport shuttle; alternatively, you can book your last night at a hotel near the airport on the evening before your departure.
You asked about renting a van in Sydney and going as a group. We used to do this with smaller groups but have since recommended that most people get their own vehicle and share it with another person if desired or with two if you get a larger vehicle. Even with the larger vehicles, there's a limit to how much luggage you can get into them, particularly with Americans who tend not to travel light. The other thing is that 2 or 3 people per vehicle gives you a lot more freedom once you hit Coonabarabran -- if you want to go into town to use the internet, get breakfast, lunch or dinner, go sightseeing, etc. It's a little harder to coordinate these activities among larger numbers of people. Sometimes the astronomers like to do the daytime astronomy tours, while the spouses prefer to shop in Dubbo or nearby environs. Depends a lot on your traveling party.
Finally, unless you are using miles to get your air tickets or you have special needs or seat desires, I'd recommend waiting on procuring tickets.  Or, if you have information about the airfares doubling anytime soon, please let me know! Usually, this far out, airfares are at their max. March is still high season for travel in Australia. Last fall (Sept 09), Qantas offered a spectacular fare, around $1000 per RT ticket from LA or SFO, which is unusual for them. This past trip, Virgin Air came online for transpacific trips to Oz and also offered some outstanding fares. The thing to do is watch and wait. I typically book about 2 to 3 months out, although I've seen some great fares about 6 weeks out (I'm not quite that gutsy). 
At any rate, if you would like to book now, go for it. If you want to join in on any of the activities in Sydney before the star party, book so you'll arrive by the 8th of March (that would be a March 6 departure from the States) and book for a 3/20 return if you are returning immediately thereafter. Alternatively, the dates you cite below -- 3/9 through 3/24 -- will work perfectly for getting you to the orientation dinner and to the star party on time and still give you time afterwards for some sightseeing.
One other thing is that we have not yet set the price of the event in 2010. This star party is run completely by volunteers and the equipment is being leased by Three Rivers Foundation, a non-profit foundation here in Texas. We typically ask for a deposit to cover basic expenses of the star party and the volunteers. There is a new organization called Three Rivers Foundation Australia that now sponsors this star party and the goal will be to ensure that all volunteer expenses are covered plus throwing some profit to enable this group to do some outreach and education for the public and school groups in Australia. We also want to ensure that money is available to repair and maintain 3RF equipment. We are in the process of analyzing expenses over the last two years to ascertain a fair price for American tourists that will also meet the goals of this new organization. As soon as we set the price, we'll announce it on the list. If there is any reservation on your part about this, I would suggest waiting until we announce the deposit fee before you make your air reservations.
Please don't hesitate to call me if I can provide any other information -- my home number is 512-451-0339; my office is 512-451-8895; my mobile is 512-922-2178. I'm leaving July 11 for a trip to China for the solar eclipse but will be back home on July 31.
Hope this helps and we sure look forward to seeing you and Barbara, and hopefully your Bay area friends, join us!
Kindest regards,anne
PS -- I am copying the Ozsky list as there may be others interested in this same information.

On Jul 1, 2009, at 9:19 PM, Dennis Beckley wrote:
Hi Anne,

My wife, Barbara, and I would like to attend the 3RF 2010 star party in Coonabrabran and would like to get your help regarding purchasing airfairs.  The dates are listed as 3/12/2010 through 3/19/2010.  If we leave San Francisco on 3/9/2010 at 10:00 P.M. we arrive in Sidney on 3/11/2009 at around 8:30 in the morning. Would the group hotel be available the night of 3/11/2009?  Is that the night of the group dinner?  Do we catch the train to dobbu the next morning and then rent a car/van in Dobbu to drive to Coona?  Coming back do we catch the train from Dobbu again? Are some people just renting a van with other group members in Sydney and just making the 7 hour drive to Coona by themselves?

We paln to do sighting seeing in Sydney after the star party is over.  Plan on about two weeks in Australia (Leaving SFO on 3/9/2010 and returning on 3/24/2009.

There are two other couples from the Bay area who've also expressed an interest in going.

Please let me know if the 3/9/2010 flight from San Francisco seems about right so I can go ahead with booking the flights.

Looking forward to seeing you again. Had a chance to meet you at a get together at Van Robinson's at TSP a few years ago.

Thanks for your kind help,

Dennis Beckley

       
 --------------------------anne-marie adkinsHoward Adkins Communications, Inc.911 W. Anderson Ln., Ste. 203Austin, TX 78757office: 512-451-8895fax: 512-451-8896home: 512-451-0339

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