BROUGHTON ISLAND
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| Type of dive: |
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Reef |
| Snorkelling: |
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Yes, fantastic sharks! |
| Scuba: |
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Open Water |
| Access: |
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Boat only (45 minutes) |
| Depth: |
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15 – 35 metres (50-115’) |
| Visibility: |
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10 – 25 metres (30-80’) |
| Water temperature: |
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18 – 23°C (64-73°F) |
| Seasonal: |
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No, but November to April best for sharks |
Broughton Island is a low-lying granite island surrounded by beautiful Pacific Ocean waters.
Picturesque Nelson Bay, located near Port Stephens, just under three hours north of Sydney by road, is not only the gateway to some of the best diving in New South Wales, but just a stone’s throw from the Hunter Valley, famous for its wine.
Whale watching is another of the area’s major drawcards when majestic humpback whales pass by on their annual winter migration from May to November.
Broughton Island lies north east of Nelson Bay in the Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park. The park was established in 2005 to offer protection to the woodlands, lakes, estuaries and off-shore islands that make up this unique area.
Until the 1960’s, Broughton Island was inhabited by fisherman known as ‘Broughton Islanders’ who fished for lobsters, snapper, flathead and leatherjackets. It is now a great camping destination for tourists, who camp amongst the island’s many thousand seabirds.
The island is one of New South Wales central coast’s most popular diving destinations.
The diverse underwater terrain of the island consists of large boulders, walls, caverns and chasms, providing ideal dive sites in almost any weather.
The island’s premier dive site is Looking Glass, a natural narrow channel running through the island.
On each side of the channel are sheer walls and the bottom is sand with large granite boulders. It can be quite surgy when the ocean swell is running.
The channel is often teeming with huge schools of bait fish, a spectacular sight.
In summer, curious grey nurse sharks will often join divers, and on the sandy bottom there are numerous wobbegong and Port Jackson sharks.
Other fish life is quite prolific and divers often encounter graceful eastern blue devil fish.
The canyon walls and overhangs are covered with invertebrates, including colourful sponges, and many delicate nudibranchs will catch a keen eye.
Dolphins often provide an added bonus for divers when accompanying the dive boat on the journey out to Broughton.
Copyright © 2024 Steve Sinclair
Other great dives to do while you are there:
Halifax Park, Fly Point, North Rock, SS Oakland and Bubble Cave.
Local dive services:
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FEET FIRST DIVE: www.feetfirstdive.com.au |
Other services:
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Need somewhere to eat, drink or stay? |
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BLAST EXPERIENCES |
OTHER INFORMATION
LOCATION
State or Territory:
New South Wales
Nearest City:
Sydney
Nearest Regional City:
Newcastle
Nearest Town:
Nelson Bay
HOW TO GET THERE
Air:
Nearest International Airport:
Sydney
Nearest Domestic/Regional Airport:
Newcastle
Road:
Sydney to Nelson Bay:
Just over 2.5 hours (210 km/130 mi) via Pacific Motorway/B63
Newcastle to Nelson Bay:
Just under 1 hour (60 km/37 m)i via Nelson Bay Rd/B63
Bus:
From Sydney and Newcastle
Train:
Not relevant
Ferry:
Not relevant
THINGS TO DO
Dolphin Swims
Whale Watching
Surfing
Swimming
Fishing
Mountain Biking
4 Wheel Driving
Quad Biking
Parasailing
Paragliding
National parks