Moon With a View
“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” T S Eliott
One of this quirky serpent’s favorite nocturnal activities includes slinking about in the moonlight. Watching the comings and goings of this gorgeous ball of light is also on the list of interesting things to do. After many years worked out which locations were the best for watching the full moon rising. There are not many easily accessible places in this city with an uninterrupted view to the eastern horizon.
It was also a most auspicious day. The very first full moon that the Izzie intentionally set about watching was also on a Wednesday 4th July. Way back in 2001. Did not know back then that the sun and moon are in opposition by definition at the time of the full moon. Was amazed and astonished to discover this bit of trivia. Especially when the location is on a hill near is a spooky historical graveyard. Felt sort of stupid for having been so completely unobservant during all those years.
Knew that sitting on the foreshore on the south side of the city would be no good as the moon rises to the south east at this time of year and would not be visible from there. In summer it is different. Then it peeks up from behind the buildings of the city skyline and is a most magical sight.
Yesterday’s moonrise would be just after 5pm so it did not make sense to return to the Lair after work. Would go on a coffee crawl instead and visit the zoo for an hour before slinking over to the jetty to catch the ferry. Being on the ferry in the middle of the river would be a perfect spot for moon watching.
Walking on to the jetty to get to the ferry meant going past the Bellhouse cafe. Got all nostalgic for back in 2003 where that was a favourite lurking ground before it went all upmarket.
But there were two tables outside in the sunshine and a coffee corner on the eastern side where you could sit at a table inside but not have to order a proper meal.
Followed the path of the shadows cast by the sun and realized that they pointed to a place easily visible from those tables outside. Could watch the moon rising, the sun setting and the lights twinkling on the city skyline all from the one spot. The pale pink blob was still half hidden by the horizon when the Izzie spotted it. This sure is progress. Even knowing the exact time of rising and being pretty good at guessing the location the old beady eyes ain’t what they used to be. So often the elusive orb would be well and truly clear of the horizon before spotting it. Worst of all - would be staring at the proper spot for a good ten minutes and simply not be able to see it.
So it was wonderful to sit there for a good 40 minutes watching the magical sky show and the amazing change in colour from pale pink to orange, then yellow and then white. Figured that it would be even better the next day as it would already be dark and so much easier to spot the moon which would be coming up just a tiny weeny bit north of yesterday’s location.
So returned to the lair from work, scrubbed the scales and pottered around the garden for a few hours before indulging in a bit of a snooze in the sun. Really did not want any remnants of the mad house lingering for this success guaranteed evening of moon spotting. Wasn’t going to take any chances at all so brought along the pair of binoculars bought at Vinnies many moons ago for this very purpose.
The darkness meant being able to spot the critter before its first quarter had appeared over the horizon. It was yellow orange and looked simply enormous like some huge rock plonked on the skyline. Was half expecting to see a dingo lurking around the edge of it
After 30 minutes it had gone through its change of colours and seemed to be moving quite fast. The golden light made a most wonderful ladder effect in the water like you so often see in postcards from up north. So slinked off to the bottle shop and bus stop next to it and figured how funny it was that we could do the moon rise tour on a two hour return ticket without needing to rush and having plenty of time for a coffee (but not quite enough for lots of squiggling)
After all those years of searching for the perfect moon watching spot, it turns out to be a twenty minute bus trip from the Lair with a coffee shop included. And unlike King’s Park it is a suitable viewing spot for both the summer and winter moon rise locations. Being so low it also has the advantage of making the moon appear much bigger than when viewed from a hill.
And when the moon is in hiding then you can still sit there to watch the sunset and the goblins working late in their high rise offices in the city. It was amusing watching the office workers returning on the ferry. Some would be glued to their phones and lumbering like zombies while the odd one would look up and gush at the gorgeousness of the golden orb putting on such a pretty show.
This area attracts a lot of tourists and Izzie has noticed that the Chinese seem to be the biggest moon lovers of all. Some turn up with cameras and tripods like on some military mission.
Next time we will be bringing a proper picnic with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate this sort of home coming.
One of this quirky serpent’s favorite nocturnal activities includes slinking about in the moonlight. Watching the comings and goings of this gorgeous ball of light is also on the list of interesting things to do. After many years worked out which locations were the best for watching the full moon rising. There are not many easily accessible places in this city with an uninterrupted view to the eastern horizon.
It was also a most auspicious day. The very first full moon that the Izzie intentionally set about watching was also on a Wednesday 4th July. Way back in 2001. Did not know back then that the sun and moon are in opposition by definition at the time of the full moon. Was amazed and astonished to discover this bit of trivia. Especially when the location is on a hill near is a spooky historical graveyard. Felt sort of stupid for having been so completely unobservant during all those years.
Knew that sitting on the foreshore on the south side of the city would be no good as the moon rises to the south east at this time of year and would not be visible from there. In summer it is different. Then it peeks up from behind the buildings of the city skyline and is a most magical sight.
Yesterday’s moonrise would be just after 5pm so it did not make sense to return to the Lair after work. Would go on a coffee crawl instead and visit the zoo for an hour before slinking over to the jetty to catch the ferry. Being on the ferry in the middle of the river would be a perfect spot for moon watching.
Walking on to the jetty to get to the ferry meant going past the Bellhouse cafe. Got all nostalgic for back in 2003 where that was a favourite lurking ground before it went all upmarket.
But there were two tables outside in the sunshine and a coffee corner on the eastern side where you could sit at a table inside but not have to order a proper meal.
Followed the path of the shadows cast by the sun and realized that they pointed to a place easily visible from those tables outside. Could watch the moon rising, the sun setting and the lights twinkling on the city skyline all from the one spot. The pale pink blob was still half hidden by the horizon when the Izzie spotted it. This sure is progress. Even knowing the exact time of rising and being pretty good at guessing the location the old beady eyes ain’t what they used to be. So often the elusive orb would be well and truly clear of the horizon before spotting it. Worst of all - would be staring at the proper spot for a good ten minutes and simply not be able to see it.
So it was wonderful to sit there for a good 40 minutes watching the magical sky show and the amazing change in colour from pale pink to orange, then yellow and then white. Figured that it would be even better the next day as it would already be dark and so much easier to spot the moon which would be coming up just a tiny weeny bit north of yesterday’s location.
So returned to the lair from work, scrubbed the scales and pottered around the garden for a few hours before indulging in a bit of a snooze in the sun. Really did not want any remnants of the mad house lingering for this success guaranteed evening of moon spotting. Wasn’t going to take any chances at all so brought along the pair of binoculars bought at Vinnies many moons ago for this very purpose.
The darkness meant being able to spot the critter before its first quarter had appeared over the horizon. It was yellow orange and looked simply enormous like some huge rock plonked on the skyline. Was half expecting to see a dingo lurking around the edge of it
After 30 minutes it had gone through its change of colours and seemed to be moving quite fast. The golden light made a most wonderful ladder effect in the water like you so often see in postcards from up north. So slinked off to the bottle shop and bus stop next to it and figured how funny it was that we could do the moon rise tour on a two hour return ticket without needing to rush and having plenty of time for a coffee (but not quite enough for lots of squiggling)
After all those years of searching for the perfect moon watching spot, it turns out to be a twenty minute bus trip from the Lair with a coffee shop included. And unlike King’s Park it is a suitable viewing spot for both the summer and winter moon rise locations. Being so low it also has the advantage of making the moon appear much bigger than when viewed from a hill.
And when the moon is in hiding then you can still sit there to watch the sunset and the goblins working late in their high rise offices in the city. It was amusing watching the office workers returning on the ferry. Some would be glued to their phones and lumbering like zombies while the odd one would look up and gush at the gorgeousness of the golden orb putting on such a pretty show.
This area attracts a lot of tourists and Izzie has noticed that the Chinese seem to be the biggest moon lovers of all. Some turn up with cameras and tripods like on some military mission.
Next time we will be bringing a proper picnic with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate this sort of home coming.