Deep Weekend - Kilsby Sinkhole

What is Deep Weekend?


You might be familiar with Deep Week - there's truly nothing else like it!

So, what exactly is Deep Weekend?

Think of Deep Weekend as a condensed version of Deep Week. It's much more than just a freediving course; it's a comprehensive opportunity to enhance your diving skills with world-class instructors and connect with fellow freedivers over three days in the breath-taking Kilsby Sinkhole!

Deep Weekend offers a unique chance to elevate your diving experience and complete your freediving course at a more relaxed pace in an out of this world location!

What’s it like in Kilsby Sinkhole

Kilsby Sinkhole stands out as one of Australia's, if not the world’s, most magnificent dive spots! This 27-meter-deep freshwater sinkhole offers unparalleled visibility.

Renowned for its remarkable water clarity, with visibility ranging from 40 to 80 meters depending on the day and season, Kilsby Sinkhole will serve as our depth training site.

Mount Gambier is dotted with Sinkholes and freshwater wonderlands. Kilsby Sinkhole will be our main dive site but we will get to explore many of them over the weekend.

Located midway between Adelaide and Melbourne, Mount Gambier is easily accessible, approximately a 5-hour drive from both cities.

Flying into Adelaide, renting a car, and driving over is recommended, with carpooling being a common practice for the journey!

Over the course of three days, participants will have the opportunity to enrol in a freediving course: Wave 1, Wave 2, or complete half of their Wave 3 certification.

One of the most spectacular times of your life!

  • The Workshops

    Everyday our instructors will hold a variety of workshops on different freediving topics.

    You are welcome to attend as many or as few activities as you like and choose which workshops to attend based on your interests.

  • The Schedule

    Thursday (afternoon)

    Arrive In Mount Gambier and get together for a big family dinner! If you can’t make it for whatever reason just let us know and we’ll get you up to speed once you've arrived.

    Friday

    Training in Kilsby Sinkhole from the morning until lunch time followed by afternoon workshops, and lobster diving!

    Saturday

    Training in Kilsby Sinkhole from the morning until lunch time followed by afternoon workshops, diving in the crystal clear ponds and a night dive!

    Sunday

    Training in Kilsby Sinkhole during the morning and then leaving for home in the afternoon.

  • The Certifications

    You’ll have the opportunity to enrol in the Wave 1 course, Wave 2 course, or complete half of your Wave 3 course.

    You can also choose not to take a course over the weekend. Many people come and dive the sinkholes without any desire for a freedvig course.

Check out our video from Kilsby Sinkhole!

Iris Egan

Entering as strangers and genuinely leaving as a family. Sensational deep week experience. Very cost effective and inclusive (for a student like myself); fully transparent with costs and inclusions. I seriously cannot recommend every freediver to do at least 1 Deep Week trip with Adam Stern and the Freediving Family at least once…. I’m already dreaming of my 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc trips….. could even say it was life changing! (Kilsby Sinkhole and Ewens Ponds experiences especially)

Flynn Cowan

Deep Week Mount Gambier was the best week of my life. The amount of knowledge I learned about freediving and fun I had was unreal. The way it was all organised and put together was just perfect. The way everyone was so close by the end of the week really made us all feel like a big freediving family. Kilsby was definitely the highlight with its crystal clear water and magical shard. Thanks Adam and all the instructors for doing such an amazing job, and i can't wait to come back next year.

Our Accommodation

During the trip we will be staying at the Old Mount Gambier Gaol. It is literally an old gaol that has now been converted to accommodation. The rooms are dormitory style and this is included in the price of the trip.

All of the theory and dry training sessions will be held at the Gaol, as well as at least one big catch and cook dinner of crays and abalone.

Check out how epic the accommodation is:

The Gaol is a communal living arrangement and not a hotel, and it is run more like an Airbnb.

This means that we are responsible for cleaning up after ourselves in the shared spaces, living rooms, kitchens etc.

The Gaol does have fully equipped kitchens and many of the divers choose to cook or themselves or cook communally for the weekend.

Included

-3 full days of depth training at Kilsby Sinkhole, workshops and afternoon fun!

-Molchanovs Certification costs and all associated costs with your training and course.

-3 nights of accommodation in the Old Mt Gambier dorms.

Not Included

-Travel to Mount Gambier

-Meals while in Mount Gambier

-National Park fees for Ewens Ponds and Piccininni Ponds

-Gear hire (although if you just need a few things we can probably bring them from our Melbourne or Sydney dive centres.

Pricing

Our spots for Deep Weekend book fast…

$390 AUD

Pay Your Deposit

$990 AUD

Pay In Full

The price includes all training and certification costs, and 3 nights of accommodation (Thu-Fri-Sat). The price does not include: travel, meals or gear hire expenses. To ensure your booking is confirmed, please provide a $390 AUD non-refundable deposit. The remaining amount can be paid 6 weeks prior to Deep Weekend.

Sometimes it’s just easier to get in touch!

FAQs

  • Of course! If you are just getting started in your Freediving journey, we offer Wave 1 courses which are beginner courses. You will learn all the basics of this sport, physiology, safety, and equalization.

    Most importantly, you will have a whole weekend to practice your skills and get more comfortable in the water. No rushing through a 2-day course. Get ready to immerse yourself in Freediving with us!

  • All of our courses are Molchanovs Courses.

  • The price includes all workshops, training and certification costs.

    Staff, set-up and facilities to run the event are covered by your ticket.

    It also includes 3 nights of accommodation in the Old Mt Gambier Gaol.

    Even though we aren’t responsible for how you get to Mount Gambier we will help you ith your travel plans and ink you up with the other divers coming so you car carpool with them and share costs.

  • We cannot issue refunds.

    For any circumstances that prevent you from coming to the event, we offer to transfer your payment (deposit or full payment) to a future event in 2024 if you give us at least 60 days notice before the start of the event.

    For more info, check our terms of service.

  • Unfortunately it’s not included. If you giveYus plenty of notice we can bring a few items for you But you will need to either bring your own gear from home or you will be able to rent gear from the dive shops around Mount Gambier.

    We will provide all dive weights though!

  • The water i the sinkhole is 16 degrees so a 5mm open cell wetsuit is perfect.

  • You can pay an initial deposit to secure your spot and later on pay the remainder balance.

    With no deposit, there is no booking confirmed.

    As soon as you book in, you will receive an email with a button that says “Pay Remainder Balance”. You can click that button anytime you like.

    We ask the full payment to be covered six weeks before the start of the event.

    You can also choose to pay in full.

  • Nothing during Deep Weekend is compulsory.

    If you feel like you need some time to chill and relax by skipping a workshop or want to go out for dinner by yourself, then by all means do so!