Meet our Guides
-
Dimitri Douchin PhD, Co-Founder of Blue Mountains Stargazing and Blue Mountains Dark Sky Initiative
Dimitri is French-Australian astronomer with a PhD in Astrophysics and Astronomy and 10+ years of experience (Sydney Observatory, Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley). He is also an Adjunct Fellow at Western Sydney University, focusing on Cultural Astronomy and collaborating with Aboriginal communities to recover astronomical heritage. When he's not looking at the stars, Dimitri enjoys bushcraft, personal development, and canoeing.
-
Paul Payne PhD
Paul has a PhD in Astronomy, with over 35 years running continuing education courses at Sydney Observatory in Astronomy and Physics. He has worked at Parkes Radio Telescope as a support astronomer, and La Silla Observatory, in Chile. He enjoys time with his family, riding his bicycle and contemplating the nature of the universe on bushwalks.
-
Nathan Summers
Nathan has had an interest in the stars and the sky for many years, which includes formal study at UNE. Along with the stars, he works with natural areas and also does art, focussing on realistic landscapes. This includes environmental education, and also work with the Blue Mountains community Bushcare program. He has bred and shown poultry having a heritage breed called the Croad Langshan. He is also into music, currently playing drums in a local band called ‘Red Planet Repairs’, and previously has been a DJ on 2RRR 88.5fm (Ryde Regional Radio) for over 20 years.
-
Thomas Kirkpatrick
Tom has always had a fascination with the universe, and spends most of his free time and energy on photographing the night sky with his telescope and cameras. He loves going on road trips to photograph the stars from new places, and a clear and sleepless night is his idea of a good time! He is studying mechanical engineering with the goal of designing telescopes to help share the stars with even more people.
@tomkirkpatrick_
-
Musawer Bajwa
Musawer Bajwa is a student of the wonders of the Universe. He specialises in transforming the complex sciences of astronomy into spiritual food for the soul. He has a Masters in Radio Astronomy and works at the Sydney Observatory alongside Blue Mountains Stargazing. From blackholes, to galaxies, to life on earth and religion, there is no topic that escapes his reach. He can be found in his spare time at the Marsden Park library where books have become his confidant and nourishment for his thirst for answers.
-
Velibor Velovic PhD
Velibor holds a PhD in astrophysics, with research centered on supermassive black holes and their influence on galaxy environments. Beyond research, Velibor is an experienced science communicator, devoted to promoting broader understanding of science and astronomy. Beyond the world of astrophysics, Velibor holds a 2nd DAN black belt in aikido and can be seen in nature exploring mountains or bikepacking.
-
Amol Mane
Amol is a technologist, science communicator and an astrophotographer. He likes to travel to dark skies to photograph night landscapes and transient astronomical events. @earthly_astronut
The photo has actually been taken at our stargazing tour lookout in October 2024 when Amol was aurora hunting with his daughter for her birthday!
Meet our Cohosts
-
Brittany Bowller
Britt loves experiencing peace and wonder under the night sky and enjoys sharing this with all Star Gazing participants. When she is not gazing upwards she is teaching women about the wonders of the menstrual cycle, fertility awareness and womb yoga @britestarwomancraft. You can also find her in the community garden amongst the herbs.
-
Camille Simard-Legault
Originally from Québec (Canada), Camille came to Australia in 2018 and decided to settle in the Blue Mountains to be close to nature and hiking trails. With a diversified background in anthropology, reforestation, retail, and yoga, she takes pleasure in learning and developing new passions. During time off, she loves reading books, and soaking up cliff top scenery.
-
Vicky Bekfi
She has been fascinated by the cosmos since being a youngling, being gifted her first telescope when she was 8 years old. She's always admired the stories all around the world about the stars, and how our ancestors found so much beauty within what lies beyond our Earth. Vicky loves contemplating human existence by observing the stars. Take a stargazing tour with her and hear the great stories of Greek and Egyptian constellation mythology. She's also the owner of Flow State Studio in Lawson @flowstateyoga__
-
Kieran O'Toole
Kieran is a cohost for both the beautiful Blue Mountains and sunny Jervis Bay. Having lived in the mountains his whole life he brings a personal and local knowledge of the environment and its surrounds. He also rock climbs all around the mountains and loves being in the wilderness, day or night.
-
Ed Hall, MEd, Ops Coordinator
Ed is an experienced educator who grew up in the UK and now resides in the Blue Mountains with his young family. His favourite constellation is Orion, and he still remembers the first time he saw it 'upside down' in his adopted country. He is proudly autistic.
-
Jenny De Guzman, Customer Experience Officer
Jenny is originally from the Philippines. She is a proud owner of a 6-month old Labrador named Kenji. In her free time, she enjoys watching Korean dramas. One of her favorite dishes is Sisig, and she often enjoys fruit teas to stay refreshed in the warm Philippine climate.
-
Dwi Y Yuna, or Ocha, Stargazing Intern
Dwi Y Yuna (@dwiyosha) is an industrial engineering graduate who is now living her childhood dream: astronomy. Originally from West Sumatra, she currently resides in Bandung, Indonesia, while remotely admiring the Australian skies. Besides stargazing, she enjoys traveling, writing, painting, playing badminton, photography, grounding, and many more. Dwi dreams of becoming the author of best-selling astronomy books and capturing starry night skies from every corner of the Earth.
-
Caroline Boulom, Co-Founder of Blue Mountains Stargazing
Caroline, the Managing Director—and Dimitri’s fiancée, is passionate about creating joyful moments for the guests. She is in charge of the Ground Operations: from PR, digital marketing, customer service, partnerships with local businesses, creating bespoke events that sparkle stars in the guests’ eyes. She can be found never far from the sea and the mountains, forest bathing or reading a French novel.
Our Mission
To create WOW moments in nature and inspire our guests to look inward by looking up, taking them on a journey of discovering the Australian sky through ancient and modern stories.
Our Philosophy
Everything shifted when Caroline & Dimitri found their home sanctuary in Leura in the Blue Mountains.
Stunned by the beauty of the place they had just moved to, they wondered how they could offer wonderful experiences that would allow locals and visitors to stop their hectic life, breathe the fresh mountain air and look within.
The answer was as simple as it was obvious: to share their love for Nature and for the Sky. They strive to deliver immersive and meaningful experiences so guests can come out of their tours more relaxed, connected, curious and simply happier. They aim to offer a connection between the content of their tours and Australia’s Indigenous history as much as is culturally appropriate.
It’s incredible to be a little human on a pale blue dot flying through space.