Obsessed with the night sky? When you’re not chasing the southern lights, or going stargazing around Melbourne, take a moment to drive out to Gippsland for uninterrupted views of the cosmos. There’s 13 destinations around Central and East Gippsland for you to check out the next time you feel like gazing out towards the universe. These spots, selected by Stargazing Gippsland, have low light pollution and offer great dark skies. Connecting them all is the storytelling of land and skies from GunaiKurnai culture.
Stargazing Gippsland
Journey from seaside towns to chilly mountain villages on your next trip to the stars. This new astro-tourism experience, also known as the Dark Skies project, has outlined 13 spots for you to explore.
They are:
- Bruthen
- Buchan
- Cann River
- Cape Conran
- Dargo
- Lake Tyers
- Loch Sport
- Mallacoota
- Marlo
- Nowa Nowa
- Omeo
- Orbost
- Point Hicks
Alfred Hudson, a GunaiKurnai Monero artist from East Gippsland, is also helping visitors to understand the connection between life and the night sky through cultural storytelling. His artwork features on signs across Gippsland, guiding tourists to the ideal stargazing spots. The signage includes his Mother’s Night Sky artwork, which demonstrates how the stars represent the seasons: the time for hunting, the time for eating, and the time for moving across Country.
There will also be two mobile observatories, including telescopes, binoculars and torches, which will be available for special public stargazing events. This will open the gates for more astronomy events in the region.
Find out more here.