I spent my early years growing up in Western Australia and a recent visit meant I was able to venture out and take advantage of the awesome starry skies and practice some astrophotography.
To give you an idea of what a great stargazing hotspot WA is, I dug up a few statistics to put things into perspective.
Western Australia has a land mass of 2,529,875 kms sq. France would fit 4 times, Germany 7 times or the UK 11 times, yet it has a population of 2.72 million - a mere 30% of the population of London alone which is 9,176,530 million.
80% of WA’s population live in and around the capital city Perth, leaving the rest of the state a very big, very unpopulated open space.
Surrounding this great expanse of land are even vaster stretches of ocean. Head west into the Indian Ocean and and eventually you will hit Mauritius ( 5,889 km from Perth) or due south across the Southern Ocean to Antarctica (7,227km from Perth)
So with a lot of water on one side and vast open land on the other, WA is fantastic place for astronomy, astrophotography and all things star related. Consequently, lots of keen ‘astro tourists’ head to the outback to soak up the astronomical wonders of the big open skies
Planning Ahead
Whilst still in Perth, I did some research before heading out and came across Carol Redford who runs Astro Tourism WA
Carol used to run the observatory in Gingin just outside of Perth and now promotes astrotourism in WA with great enthusiasm. I gave her a call and she was very happy to give me lots of advice and tips about good places to go as well as details of local contacts who could help me. She also listened very sympathetically to my slight fears of heading out into the glittery abyss alone, recounting that she too felt the same sometimes and that I wasn’t alone (metaphorically speaking). Phew!
On Carol’s advice, I planned my journey down The Albany Highway to a town aptly named Darkan, roughly 2 1/2 hours drive south of Perth in the Shire of Arthur. I booked myself into Darkan Hotel for $30 a night (bargain!) and headed off.
As a side note, there are some great little shops and cafes near to the town of Williams on the highway which make a good half way stop. The William’s Woolshed - great for coffee, snacks and all things made of wool. There is also The Rustik Rainbow Cafe where I had a delicious satay curry.
Once I arrived in Darkan, I checked in and got my bearings a little. The hotel is modest with simple rooms, shared bathrooms, a basic bar for food and drink in the evening and a cute little cafe for morning coffee and brekkie. Despite the slight tumbleweed moment stepping into the bar upon arrival, the locals were friendly, chatty and curious about my visit.
I then met with Kerryn Chia (with whom Carol had put me in touch). Kerryn is a local astro enthusiast who was able to point me in the direction of some good spots such as 6 Mile Cottage and the lakes at Towerrinning. Kerryn’s family have lived and farmed in the area for 120 years, so her knowledge of the area as well as of the natural landscape was fantastic.
6 Mile Cottage is, strangely enough, 6 miles from Darkan! I chose to head there first. Why does 6 miles, in the middle of nowhere, alone, seem so far?! This isolated little cottage was built by a sleeper cutter called Dick Strange in the 1900s when train lines were being laid. It is has been well maintained and is now a small museum which is unlocked and open to visitors at any time. Carol and I had done a recce earlier so I’d already seen inside while it was light. I wasn’t so keen in the thick of the night though, so chose to keep my distance for a wide shot and light the cottage with my torch.
I used the Stellarium App to help get the best positioning and to work out where the Milky Way was. I was advised that Feb-Oct is the best time to shoot in the southern hemisphere as it is quite low on the horizon just now. Nonetheless I was happy with the results and you can just see the Milky Way over the tops of the cottage and trees in this shot. My newly acquired Nikon D850 really showed off its capabilities shooting in low light.
6 Mile Cottage, Darkan, Western Australia Copyright Jo Hunt Photography2019
My next stop was Lake Towerrinning where I got some ghostly shots of trees coming up out of the lakes and swamps. By now I felt more comfortable in the dark alone and was really able to sit back and enjoy the awesomeness of the great starry sky.
Lake Towerrinning, Western Australia Copyright Jo Hunt Photography 2019
Although this was just a quick visit, I was pleased with the results I was able to achieve after only a few hours drive from the city. I am already planning to return for more. Star gazing is addictive!
Living in a densely populated and light polluted part of Europe means that witnessing a vast starry sky - something our ancestors would have experienced often - is a rare thing. Star gazing brings us back to that ancient feeling, making us realise how small we are and how big it really is out there.
Step out on any clear night in WA and you are pretty much guaranteed an immense starry sky. Venture out a little further and you’ll get a fantastic light show. It’s definitely worth the effort.
For further information on Astro Tourism in W.A you can contact Carol on Instagram or Facebook @astrotourismwa or email stars@astrotourismwa.com.au
For further information about star gazing near to Darkan you can email kerrynchia@wn.com.au