Trip to ASV Star-gazing event: exploration of Heathcote and surrounds
Date and time: 12pm to 4pm, Saturday 18 November 2023
Description: Please contact your trip leader if you are unsure of any of the following requirements for this trip.
This is a half day trip only for those attending the ASV star gazing trip in the evening. If you have registered for the star gazing and would like to go for a quiet Saturday afternoon drive, culminating at the ASV dark sky property, then sign up and come along!
Starting in Woodend we will travel by some local scenic locations, including Hanging Rock and the historic Redesdale Bridge as well as explore some parts of the Heathcote Graytown National Park before heading to the ASV dark sky property later that afternoon.
Much of the route will be bitumen or ‘easy’ dirt tracks.
Please carry all food and water for an afternoon tea stop in addition to what you may have for overnight.
Please have an early lunch before our meeting time. Bourkies Bakery has a fabulous vanilla slice!
Clothing and footwear for bush conditions. The forecast looks like Saturday will be fairly warm with light cloud cover.
No camper trailers, pets or firearms.
Reference: Costerfield 7824-S 1:50,000 Scale Vicmap.
Accommodation: NIL for this trip.
Weather: Warm day. Review the Heathcote weather forecast leading up to the trip and bring appropriate clothing and footwear.
Equipment: Below are the recommended vehicle requirements. If you are not sure if your vehicle is suitable for a trip, please have a chat with the trip leader.
A well-maintained vehicle with normal road tyres is OK for this trip (All Terrain tyres would be preferred).
Additional Equipment required: Whilst not expected to be used, basic recovery gear, air compressor and tyre gauge and MaxTrax or similar equipment is always better to have than not.
Trip Standard: Easy – We are intending to have a pleasant afternoon drive, but I have not travelled many of these tracks before. We will avoid any difficult looking tracks we may come across.
Fuel: Enough fuel from Woodend for 200km.
Distance: Melbourne to Woodend 90kms. Woodend to ASV Heathcote property (end point) 200km.
Duration: 1 day
Convoy limit: 10 vehicles
Meeting arrangements: We plan to meet outside the Woodend Library and Community Centre, Woodend (Margery Cres, opposite Bourkies Bakery) at 12:00pm for our trip briefing. (What3Words reference https://w3w.co/counter.constraint.discarding). We aim to finish by about 4 or 5pm at the ASV dark sky centre in Heathcote.
Trip Leader: James Lawson, Phone - 0429265550, Email – lawsonj71au@gmail.com
Club Guest Registration policy: It is club policy in regard to insurance cover that if a member brings any non-members on the trip they must be registered and have paid the required fee as Temporary Members BEFORE the event.
i.e. non- members can no longer register on the day with the trip leader.
Temporary Membership information and ways to register can be found at:
Temporary (Guest) Membership
Also if a non-member wishes to bring their own vehicle, the member inviting the non-member must contact the trip leader for approval to bring the vehicle. Such approval will take into account skills of the driver, suitability of the vehicle and whether or not a place within the convoy limit is available for a non-member's vehicle.
