When the stars align and weather cooperates you can be lucky to see something magical when you look up towards the heavens. With a new moon forecasted but weather looking dicey it was left too last minute whether or not viewing the meteorite shower given off from Halley’s Comet was going to be seen. I had the location sorted, time to leave set,  batteries charged and ready to go. All that was left was warm clothes and blankets to pack in the car ( when the rain stops ) and just hope that when midnight comes around the clouds would leave and let this adventure begin.

Sometimes you can be lucky, as my girl friend and I looked out from my balcony as midnight rolled around there they were. Not a cloud in the sky and being able to see some stars so close too city lights the night was looking good. What felt like a mad dash trying not to forget anything and making sure we had enough warm clothes, the excitement and wonder of what we were about to see made time go by fast. With three hours until the meteorite shower was predicted to start, a coffee was needed and the hope that the location I have chosen will work.

I chose to head to a lookout at Mt Mee just an hours drive from Brisbane CBD, this should be far enough away from any light pollution. Arriving on location and seeing no other car in the car park two thoughts crossed my mind. First I hope I have the right night and second I hope this is the right spot. As soon as we arrived and looked up we saw the most amazing view of the milky way and I can say the best I have ever seen it with just a naked eye. On taking the first photo and seeing the stars mixed with the milkyway I knew I could stop thinking about my second thought I had on arrival. It was just beautiful. With my camera set it was time to let the waiting game begin.

The anticipation of where the meteorites would come from and which view would look best to photograph was all I could think about. What felt like forever waiting until 2:30am when the first meteorite flew over. I jumped out the car to start taking photos I had my finger on the trigger for another 30 minutes until the reel show started. Yes I was a bit too eager. 3am came around and the site of the meteorites started to fill up the sky. Playing around with a few angles made me realise the easiest way to capture a lot of the faint metorites was to look directly up. This gave the best chance of capturing the most meteorites  in a shot and with the view of the milkyway it was just spectacular.

Over the two hours I was taking photos, there was one moment of absolute amazement. When a meteorite flew over burning up towards the ocean. This meteorite light up the whole night sky with a bluey, green flash. Of course this flew in a direction where my camera wasn’t pointing, but in that moment I felt so humble to be able to experience it with my amazing girlfriend who sat up wit me, as we kept each other warm under our blanket. As the morning grew later and sunlight started creeping into the sky from the horizon it was time to call it a night. The drive home I can say was interesting to say the least, having someone there to help keep me awake was key.

I must say this night was such a humbling experience and to shear it with someone I love  was amazing. In 60 years time when the stars align again I know that I am more then ready for this experience again. One thing I will do different though, I will be camping out under the stars so no sketchy driving will occur on the way home.