Juggle House Experiences — Local services in Mannum

We were scheduled to go on the Dark Sky Tour yesterday, Saturday 22 October 2022. Mid-morning that day we got confirmation that we were "go for the tour". We look outside and saw nothing but clouds!!! It even rained a little during the day!! Anyway, Pam and I decided what will be, will be. This was our third attempt with a couple of previous weather "fails" and also one medical emergency which prevented us from attending (about which Kelly was very generous and allowed us to reschedule in these circumstances). We arrived at Mannum and were met by Mardi. Mardi was Kelly Kuhn's substitute for the evening as Kelly already had a different group in tow. Now, Mardi was wonderful and her effervescent nature made for a fantastic night. First stop was the Bow Hill General Store! Why? For dinner! Meals were pre-ordered and were ready to be served near-immediately. While the 15 of us in the group that night were eating, Mardi faithfully explained through over 40 slides in a PowerPoint presentation describing various aspects related to our tour. After that, Mardi managed to inhale her lasagna in 5 minutes. The food was great and the service friendly and efficient. We walk outside as a group when the rain begins falling and the sky completely blotted out!!! Hmmm! Anyway, next stop was to the Ngaut Ngaut Conservation Park for an enlightening and humourous talk by Ivy, a resident elder of the Nganguraku people. She provided cultural information and details on some of the etchings in rock near a couple of the camps used around the 1830's. One word of advice here - please bring mosquito repellent! They were everywhere and even Mardi ended up with a giant fat lip from being bitten! At the end of this, we look up to the sky ... and ... CLEAR SKIES!! Next stop, an area out of Walkers Flat, Maynards Lookout, to see some cosmic bodies! Joe (and Joe's expensive telescope) took over for this part. Joe and his wife are extremely affable, have great knowledge and love to share their knowledge with interested parties. We got to see the iconic Saturn, Jupiter with three of its moons in view at that time, and stars from around 16000 light years away. We nearly got a look at NGC 104 (a side-on galaxy) but the clouds rolled in and we were done looking upwards for the night. Mardi provided tea, coffee, Milo nearby. It really was a fantastic night and we feel privileged to have finally been part of it. If you are even mildly interested in looking up in the sky, then I really recommend that you...

As residents of a major metropolitan area in the U.S., we were intrigued at the possibility to see what the sky REALLY looks like with Kelly's Dark Sky Tour during our visit to Australia. Lucky for us, we got a perfect summer night's viewing without a cloud in the sky, and the "stars" of the show did not disappoint! While there was a telescope available to see magnified images of a few select features in the sky, we most enjoyed just lying back and taking in the enormity of the night sky with our own eyes. Sure beats the view of only a dozen or so stars we see in our light-polluted home city!

Our tour guide was Kelly, who's been a part of establishing and promoting the Dark Sky Tour, and her tales regarding those efforts were interesting. She also did a great job of engaging with and getting to know all the tour participants.

Of the other activities that complete the tour, what we fondly recall most is Kelly the home-town girl describing to us and showing us life in this section of rural Australia. It might have been just her way to fill time between activities, but us getting the opportunity to compare the area with life in the big cities (Melbourne, Sydney) where we spent the remainder of our visit was a most pleasant and...

May we just say...Wow! Wow! And...Wow again! Our stargazing tour with Kelly at Juggle House Experiences a few months ago was an absolute blast and the complete package. From local indigenous history along the way, to interesting land marks and information. A stop off for a spectacular meal at the Swan Reach pub and then of course, the special experience of the star gazing. We saw the moon close up, Saturn was in perfect alignment to view the rings plus countless other constellations and star clusters. With powerful telescopes and expert knowledge of all afar, we spent a number of hours enjoying a very unique experience. Wonderful company, enlightening, eye opening and a fantastic evening in so many ways. From every informative stop off along the way, we were constantly engaged and in awe. Kelly's local knowledge was astounding, not to mention her effortless attention to detail with all the creature comforts for a chilly July evening! We definitely left this tour with a lot more respect for indigenous culture and our awe inspiring dark skies above. Soooooooooo goood. Thank you Kelly and Team for coordinating a night we will remember forever. Of course, we give you 5 million...