Lake Boga

After the usual morning’s school work we headed down to LAKE BOGA, which is about 15km southeast of SWAN HILL, to have a look at the Catalina Museum and hopefully book a visit to the planetarium and observatory for that night.  The name LAKE BOGA refers both to the lake and the adjoining town.  It is generally believed the lake, which is almost perfectly round, about 5 km in diameter, and only about 12 feet deep, was formed several thousands of years ago by a meteorite strike.  (I’ll bet that shook the local aborigines up a bit). 

We could see evidence of sand bagging around some parts of the lake where they had attempted to retain it during the January floods.  It was obvious the lake was still very full and we were surprised to later learn, that 4 months ago, before the floods, the lake had been dry and the locals had been driving their cars across the dry lake bed!

During World War 2 it was used by the Australian Air Force as a repair and maintenance base for Catalina Flying Boats.  That is still its main claim to fame, with a rebuilt Catalina on display in a Hanger on the original site of the air base. 

There was also an underground bunker which had been maintained in its original condition.  During the war it had been used as a communications post and was now included as part of the museum display.

We then booked a 7.00pm visit to the Observatory, which is privately run from a shed on the bloke’s property.  We then went back to camp for lunch and then into SWAN HILL for groceries and a look around.  SWAN HILL sits on the banks of the Murray River, so we had a walk along the waterfront, had a look at their Giant Murray Cod Statue,

and saw the largest Moreton Bay Fig Tree in Victoria.  We also drove past the Pioneer Village which we hoped to visit the next day.

After tea we headed back down to LAKE BOGA for our visit to the Observatory.  It was a beautiful, clear, still evening, and we hoped for some exciting viewing.  We were met by our hosts, Maryanne and John Fowler, and we were to be their only visitors for the night.  For the next 2 and a half hours were treated to one of the most interesting and enlightening experiences of our trip so far.  Boy do these guys know their stuff, and they share it so enthusiastically. 

Our visit started with Maryanne showing us the planet Saturn through a Telescope they had placed outside.  Even though it was low in the eastern sky and still relatively day light, we could clearly see the rings surrounding it.  Maryanne assured us we would be able to see it much clearer when we viewed it again later in the night.  We then went inside where John gave us a slide presentation on the planets, our Solar system, our Galaxy and our place in the Universe.  Boy does this guy know how to make you feel small and insignificant.

We also watched a video on photos taken from the Hubble telescope and viewed some of the nebula and stars it has discovered.  Some of these are thousands of light years away from earth and several light years across in size.  Mind boggling stuff and unfortunately distances so great and sizes so big, that your mind just can’t comprehend it.  For those ignoramuses of you out there, and I know plenty of you, a nebula is a huge concentration of gases that swirl around in space and interact with each other and from which stars are eventually born.  There are literally tens of thousands of these things out there continually evolving, and basically continually creating the universe itself.  I hope I‘ve got that right John and Maryanne, but if I’m wrong please feel free to correct me  through this blog site which we hope you will take the time to read.  (that’s why I’m saying such nice things about them). 

John then showed us a computer programme of the night sky as it was outside at the time, and pointed out the various stars, planets, and nebula that we would be able to see through their telescopes when we went outside.   We then went outside, and true to form, were able to view everything we had seen inside.  Beautiful Galaxies unseen by the naked eye with names like the Jewel Box for obvious reasons.  Then it was in to the observatory, complete with rotating dome and sliding roof, to view even further away stars and nebula through their largest telescope.

We rounded off what had been a fascinating evening with a cuppa, and a chat about our travels with John and Maryanne, before taking a, by now unconscious Cameron, back to camp.  What a brilliant experience.  Thank you John and Maryanne for a wonderful night. No need for Correspondence School, when Cameron can have experiences like this.