Get keen for an adventurous weekend camping, diving, and exploring Broughton Island.

Broughton Island is a unique place as it is the only island campground in NSW where you can camp amongst an active seabird colony. How cool is that? Plus, there are very limited sites, so we will practically have the island to ourselves to enjoy the pristine waters and hopefully see the critically endangered grey nurse sharks on our dives along with copious amounts of fish, rays and all the other cool sea critters we can find.

Dives are open to all levels of diving and we are bringing the Didj with us so we can enjoy some cool boat dives. Check out these links for more info on Broughton Island and the dive spots available:

https://feetfirstdive.com.au/broughton-island/

https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation/campgrounds/broughton-island-campground

Full disclaimer: This is a very exciting trip, but it is more adventurous than most of our weekends away. It involves a chartered boat trip to a mooring at the island, gear ferrying on the Didj and camping with compositing toilets and no showers. Logistically, it’s not for the faint hearted - you need to be willing to be a team player and enjoy the serenity of limited amenities.

IMPORTANT DETAILS – this trip is from THURSDAY NIGHT to Sunday so you’ll need to take the Friday off work or uni but who wouldn’t want to have a cheeky long weekend?

We will camp in Nelson Bay Thursday night as we'll be heading to the island early on Friday morning.

We willl be departing by boat from Nelson Bay Marina early Friday morning (9am)  to head over to Broughton Island (you'll need to be at the marina at 8am to load the boat). The boat will return to pick us up on Sunday afternoon (3pm), so you will need to commit to the whole weekend. 

Dates: 18-21 April 2024

Cost: Approx $200 pp- (including camping permits, island transfer, food on the island and beverages for party night)

Boat Dives: $30pp each dive

On the island we will be camping so everyone will need to bring their own camping gear but we ask to share where possible. Camping space is very limited so everyone to pack light and compact  (think hiking tents/ sleeping mats). We have to ferry everything off the boat with the Didj and carry ourselves e.g. one personal bag +dive bag/tub per person

Please note we cannot refill tanks on the island so the number of dives you do will be limited by the number of tanks you bring. We recommend 2 tanks per person, which means 2 dives on the island.  Due to club gear limits, you can only hire one tank from the club. You should be able to hire a second tank from the dive shop in Nelson Bay (approx $30).

Bookings open @ 7:00pm on Monday 25 March 2024. Tickets sell out fast so get in quick.

If you miss out, we will have the ‘Broughton Island WAITLIST’ open at 7:10pm same evening, as spots may open up later if there are any cancellations.

If you have any questions before booking, just send an email to: 

elen.welch@live.com

Best Fishes,

Elen & Chris

Note: In order to participate in the organised dives:

• You will need to show us your SCUBA certification card (minimum Open Water cert) and be competent and confident in your swimming abilities.
• You should have dived within the past 12 months and be comfortable to dive in a buddy pair without a dive guide from the Didj (we aren’t a commercial dive shop).

Dive safety is of the utmost importance and everyone must abide by the following rules:

• Every diver must use their own dive computer on every dive (no sharing).
• Every diver must have a safety sausage or SMB, with them on every dive.
• All divers must complete a 3 minute safety stop at 5 metres on every dive.
• No divers should go into decompression on any dive.
• All divers must surface at the end of their dive with no less than 50bar of air