Frequently asked questions

Skip to Accessibility -- Children -- Prices & payments
Private group tours & other tour dates -- Tour locations -- What to bring & wear
Weather & forecasts -- What's it like on a tour?

Also our contact details; and our tour Terms & Conditions, our tour cancellation policy, and our privacy policy

Downloads:

• Heysen Trail and Wild South Coast Way service brochure with maps and GPS coordinates
• Schools and camps brochure
• Tour terms and conditions
• Privacy policy

Covid-19 safety update

as of 1 Jun 2023

The following rules apply to all our tours & trips until further notice:

• Guests cannot attend their tour or travel in our vehicles if they have a cough, sore throat, fever, other flu-like symptoms; or if they have been in contact with a known Covid-19 case recently. You will have the option of a refund or re-booking (subject to re-booking availability).
  
• Tours will also be cancelled / postponed / refunded if any of our staff are known or suspected to have Covid-19; or if any staff have been told to self-isolate for medical reasons.

Equipment and vehicles are also being disinfected in addition to cleaning between tours. Our staff are also getting daily temperature and health checks. We carry hand sanitiser on all tours.

Weather

Our night sky tours are all “Weather Permitting”. Our telescopes don’t like strong winds and they can’t see through clouds or rain. On the day of the tour we will be reading the weather & cloud forecasts for the evening, and examining latest weather satellite images. If conditions are unfavourable the tour will be cancelled, and we will try to notify you via a message to your mobile phone before 3pm on the day of tour. Conversely if weather is favourable we will notify you to confirm your tour is ON.

Cloud Forecasting is not reliable or accurate until the actual day of your tour. This is our conclusion after 30+ years of direct local experience, and testing of dozens of weather forecasting services / models / websites / apps. Please do not waste your time (and ours) asking us for a forecast or a tour confirmation before the day of your tour.
If you're booking overnight accommodation we recommend you see/do other things in our local area during the day time too.

If we cancel your booked night sky tour, we will try to offer you an alternative tour date if possible. Otherwise you will receive a refund of any payment we've already processed; or the option to convert to a Gift Voucher.

If clouds interrupt a tour in progress, we'll wait for them to clear and then resume the tour. Or look at something else in a different direction.

We have occasionally started tours later than scheduled if we know sunset clouds are going to clear away. Or earlier than scheduled if we know a clear evening will become cloudy later. We'll notify everyone of the changed starting time in the tour confirmation message.


For daytime tours which are outdoors and exposed to weather, we will cancel the tour (or modify en route) if there's thunderstorms or heavy rain in progress, or forecast to happen during tour. The tour will also be cancelled if the roads & tracks we use have been officially closed by the relevant authorities.
We will do a daytime tour if it's only light rain / occasional showers, but we may modify it to avoid walking on any steep slippery slopes, or driving on any "dry weather only" tracks.
Shade temperatures exceeding 40 degrees C are common during November to March. If it's a hot day our vehicle(s) will be carrying extra drinking water. We may also modify the tour to reduce your risk of heat exhaustion. If Catastrophic Fire Danger conditions are forecast then many of our venues will be closed as per their safety policies, and we will cancel the tour due to "severe weather" as per our tour terms and conditions.


The Heysen Trail traverses a variety of public lands, parks, reserves, and private properties. The part of the Heysen Trail we service is within the Mt Lofty Ranges fire district.
Heysen Trail segments that cross private property are officially closed during our annual Fire Danger Season (normally early November to mid-April) -- with the exception of the Cape Jervis to Victor Harbor segment (the Wild South Coast Way). This segment is open all year except on days of extreme / catastrophic fire danger.
For your own safety we will not transport you onto an officially closed part of the Heysen Trail. Contact us if you're unsure about your proposed walking date and location.

Accessibility

Notes and photos are included on each tour's description page. Click on the photos to see a larger version.

• For night sky tours we always pick locations that are safe to walk around in the dark, easy to walk to in the dark from your parked car, and accessible for our heavy telescopes. This also makes the locations wheelchair and pram-accessible, and easy for mobility aids to traverse.
  
• We use free-standing stepladders with grab rail on all tours. Ideal for balance or mobility problems, and for supporting small children too!
  
• We've also got a kneeling pad if the telescope is looking near the horizon.
  
• One of our telescopes can be used from a seated position or from a wheelchair, but this requires specific preparations on the day. Our online booking system will ask if anyone in your booking has difficulty standing up.
  
• We offer free admission for a certified carer or medical assistant accompanying a paying guest.
  
• Accredited Guide Dogs or Assistance Dogs may attend our tours. All other dogs must be left at home or inside your car.

Children

Most of our tours offer reduced prices for families and children, but any children must be accompanied by at least one responsible (and paying) adult.
Very young children on night sky tours depends a lot on the individual child, and on how active they've already been on the day. We've met 3 year olds who stay alert and well behaved for an entire tour and ask us profound questions too. Meanwhile their older sibling falls asleep 10 minutes after the tour begins....
Free-standing stepladders with grab rail are used on all night sky tours.
We've already done many tours with an occupied pram or stroller parked nearby, or a picnic blanket spread nearby with kids inside sleeping bags.
Please tell your kids to leave any light-emitting shoes/clothes/jewellery, toys and gadgets at home. The light from these things destroys everyone's night vision.

On our day tours, young children tend to ignore our presentation and instead try exploring for whatever interests them. You may have some extra rocks and other items by the end of the tour  🙂

We do not have any baby capsules or child seats for our minibus, but 3 of its 11 passenger seats are fitted with anchor points for your own capsule/seat.

What do your prices include?

All tour prices and payments are in Australian Dollars and include 10% GST, plus any booking fees, credit card fees and booking agent commissions. See the individual tours’ descriptions for any specific inclusions or exclusions in their advertised prices.
Any refunds are also processed in Australian Dollars; so if you paid us with an international credit card your refund may be affected by variations in Currency Exchange Rates.

What is Adult / Child / Family pricing?

For our public night sky tours:

• Adult is anyone 18 years or older. We do not offer concessional adult pricing unless you're part of a Group, or a certified carer for another guest.
• Child is anyone from 5 to 17 years old inclusive. Children under 5 are free.
• Family is 1 or 2 adults + up to 4 children. The children and adult(s) don't need to be related to each other.
• Certified carer / medical assistant (for another paying guest) gets free entry.
• Group is 7 or more adults and/or children booking together on the same public tour, and must include at least 1 adult (we're not child-minders). The children and adult(s) don't need to be related to each other.
• All children regardless of age MUST be accompanied by a responsible adult during the tour.

Note: some booking agencies are unable to display all of our price categories.

Prices for private group & school group night sky tours depend on the location and the group size. Contact us for a quote.

Prices for special events involving other businesses may be different from our usual categories. See the special event's description for details.

Prices for our minibus trips & transfers depend on the number of passengers and the specific details of the journey. Contact us for a quote.

What payment methods do you accept?

   (1) Online bookings on our website:
      MasterCard credit & debit cards.
      Visa credit & debit cards.
      American Express credit card.
      Alipay 支付宝
      Some booking agencies may accept additional types of cards.

   (2) Payment in person on the day of tour (or travel). Contact us first:
      Cash (in Australian dollars).
      Our mobile EFTPOS accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express; and the EFTPOS cards issued by Australian banks, credit unions & Australia Post. It also works with most smartphone digital wallets.

   (3) Direct Payment from your bank to our bank:
      name -- The Backyard Universe Pty Ltd
      BSB -- 633 000   (Bendigo Bank)
      account -- 157 173 428
      payment reference -- your name, or our invoice number
      SWIFT code (for payments from outside Australia) -- BENDAU3B

   (4) We can also issue Tax Invoices, by prior arrangement.

Where are your tour locations and can I go without booking first?

• Regional map of the Fleurieu Peninsula & Adelaide, showing our public night sky tour location.
• Forktree location map.
• Forktree on Google Maps.

We do not provide transport to Forktree. The location is accessible to all cars.

No, you can't go to a tour without booking first. Because...

• If we have no bookings for a scheduled tour we'll stay home instead. We can see multitudes of stars from *our* backyard.
• If you don't book, or contact us beforehand in some other way, we don't know you're wanting a tour.
• If we cancel a tour due to weather, we'll only notify the tour guests that we already know about.
• When there's a larger tour group expected, we need to transport and setup (and pack up) extra equipment. This requires more time both before & after the tour. So we don't bring the extra equipment to a tour unless we know we have to.
• If the tour has a lot of guests already we may not have enough places available for you.

What do I bring or wear to a tour?

For night sky tours our advice is to wear more layers of clothing than you think you will need. It's easy to remove a layer or two if you're too hot, but it's impossible to put on an extra layer if you forgot to bring it to the tour. Remember when choosing your tour clothing that (1) you're outdoors in an exposed area, (2) there's usually some air flow, and (3) winter night temperatures at some venues may drop below zero degrees C after midnight.

• We also recommend closed footwear such as walking shoes or boots. Thongs and sandals and high heels are likely to painfully discover sharp sticks, stones, thorns, or soil fissures in the dark.
• The local mosquitos are active all year, and they like tourists.
• If your legs tire easily you may want to bring a portable chair or a picnic blanket to sit on.
• Bring your own binoculars if you want. We can point out a few things to look at.
• If you bring a torch we prefer it to be *red* light, so you don't destroy everyone's night vision with a white light if you need to see the ground or your own stuff during the tour. If you don't have a red torch, try using a bicycle's rear light, or fix a few layers of red cellophane over a white torch.
• All of our night sky tour venues are no-alcohol zones.
• Accredited Guide Dogs or Assistance Dogs may attend our tours. All other dogs must be left at home or inside your car, We don't want additional serious incidents involving pets on tours.
• Please leave any light-emitting shoes/clothes/jewellery, toys and gadgets at home. The light from these things destroys everyone's night vision.

For our daytime tours we strongly recommend closed footwear such as walking shoes, sandshoes or boots. Thongs and sandals may break or slide off of your feet on slopes and rocky surfaces, and they offer insufficient protection against rocks and sticks and thorns. Some venues we visit also require closed footwear as a condition of entry.
In sunny weather it's also a good idea to wear a hat and sunscreen, and bring a full bottle of water.

What's it like on a night sky tour?

Some comments from previous tour guests:

• The skies on the Fleurieu are just amazing. It has changed the way we look at the stars forever. Highly recommended. -- Jo, March 2018
• Thanks for opening our eyes to the skies and traditions of the Southern Hemisphere. -- Javier, April 2018
• A wonderful way to experience the Majestic wonder of the Milky Way and the planets. You need an experienced professional astronomer, a dark cloudless night away from city lights, a really good telescope, and good explanations and commentary. The Background Universe has it all. Highly recommended. Maurice, August 2019
• Thanks again for a brilliant tour on Monday evening. We all thoroughly loved it and have been reflecting on your extensive knowledge and stories ever since. -- Becky, January 2020
• "We loved it!" -- Nicki, July 2020
• "Great experience and finally something different to do in SA." -- Jordan, March 2021
• "It was a great night!!" -- Blair, April 2021
• "It was one of the most amazing experiences I'd ever had! Would highly recommend!" -- Olga, April 2021
• “Was a great night, very interesting.[stars. nebulas, galaxies} and a bonus saw 4 shooting meteors entering our atmosphere. 5 star rating” -- Andrew, May 2021
• "5/5 Brilliant with a lot of explanation.” -- Peter, May 2021
• "Truly revealing to see the stars through both the eyes of different Aboriginal peoples and cultures around the world through history! Much much more than just stargazing - a great cultural experience." -- Karen, June 2021
• "Great night - a wonderful experience" -- Joanne, August 2022
• "A great experience not far out of Adelaide." -- Gavan, February 2023
• "I bought this as a birthday present, and my partner and I loved the experience." -- Angela, March 2023
• "Great night sky experience …very knowledgeable guide." -- James, April 2023
• "...a really great tour, full of information, stories and facts." -- Katy, July 2023
• "Great night. My grandson loved it..." -- Margaret, November 2023
• "...wasn't kidding about the multi-cultural part of this tour -- you get to hear dozens of stories about stars and constellations from cultures around the world. Can't recommend this night sky tour enough." -- Herman, November 2023

Private group tours and other tour dates/times

Some of the gaps in our Fleurieu Stars tour calendar are due to Full Moons. Read about why we don't do those tours during full moons. Some of the other gaps are private group's tour nights.

We can also do, subject to our availability:

• Private group night sky tours at your venue, including Bed and Breakfasts, hotels and holiday rentals. If you're a larger group we can divide you across two or more sessions, or do a shortened version of our tour.
• Tours for your school group or camp.
• Daytime presentations at your venue.
• Combined tourism events or packages with your tourism business.
• Activities or presentations as part of a larger event.

If you're planning a night sky tour at your venue, pick a spot that:

• Isn't overshadowed by buildings or large trees.
• Isn't afflicted by outdoor lighting that cannot be turned off. Including any motion-activated lighting.
• Has an unobstructed view of the sky, especially to the south.
• We can drive onto with our car. Telescopes are heavy, we don't want to carry them a long way!
• Doesn't have any tripping or falling hazards, wandering livestock, manure blobs, soft/slippery surfaces, steep slopes, or passing traffic.
• Won't be sprayed by an irrigation system while we're there.
• Isn't metres away from any neighbours who may be trying to sleep during our tour.
• Is more than 5km from the nearest part of any commercial airport runway that is routinely used at night. We're not allowed to use laser pointers near commercial airports.
• Isn't subject to a lock-out or curfew time before we can finish packing up after tour.

We have used school ovals, golf courses, rooftop car parks, private airstrips, and "the back paddock" before.
Contact us to arrange the details. A contract and regular invoicing may be appropriate for regular work at a venue.

We have:

• Insurance.
• First Aid training. In remote regions we also travel with our satellite phone and additional First Aid kit items.
• Risk Assessment documentation.
• Sustainable Quality Tourism accreditation from the Australian Tourism Industry Council.
• Tour Operator Permit for many South Australian national parks and conservation parks.
• South Australian government Working With Children & Vulnerable Persons clearances, national police clearances, and RRHAN-EC certification.
• Government accreditation of our minibus as a Passenger Transport Vehicle, with an accredited driver.

We also work (or have worked) with a lot of other businesses & tourism venues. Some of them are listed below:

OK...so you still have a question that wasn't answered already? Contact us.

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