Skip to main content

NOCTURNA Dark Sky Retreat

NOCTURNA Dark Sky Retreat

4:00pm Friday – 12:00pm Sunday

$470 + Booking Fee – SOLD OUT

Spring Bay Mill, East Coast Tas

Venue Details
Join Waitlist

Experience: Active | Connect | Food & Drink | Interactive | Music | Outdoors | Talk

Themes: Conversation Starter | Dark Skies | Field Trip | Unseen

Access: Seated Option | Wheelchair Access

Turn off your devices, turn down the lights, and tune in to the rhythms of nature

Join us on lutruwita/Tasmania’s stunning East Coast, one of the darkest inhabited spots on Earth. Here we’ll spend a sumptuous weekend of stargazing, Indigenous astronomy,  live music, beautiful Tassie food and drink, fascinating scientific talks, cold water swimming, yoga and breath workshops, and gathering around the warm glow of open fires with a whisky or mulled cider.

Tell me more…

Welcome to NOCTURNA, a celebration of the fragile beauty of the cosmos — embracing our long winter nights and taking the time to gaze at our still-pristine dark skies, a precious natural resource that is under threat from light pollution. The increasingly widespread use of artificial light outdoors not only impairs our view of the universe, but also adversely affects our sleep, our mood, our environment — and the many nocturnal species that inhabit it. Situated at the breathtaking Spring Bay Mill, we’ll hear from astronomers, neuroscientists, members of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community and Dark Sky Tasmania about the simple steps we can take to preserve the darkness and our connection to nature.

About the experience

The weekend opens with the Dark Sky Dinner on Friday 11 August prepared by celebrated Tasmanian chef Lilly Trewartha, featuring music by renowned harpist Emily Sanzaro and talks by Dark Sky Tasmania’s Landon Bannister and Professor Barbara Holland. Stay on site in a cosy glamping tent or eco pod, wake up with Deep Time Yoga with Dr Penny Jones and cellist Georgia Shine. Spend Saturday immersed in science, music, conversation, storytelling around the fire, and astronomy talks under the stars. Explore the fascinating site alongside its current custodians, Graeme Wood and Anna Cerneaz, and discover how this place — once the largest wood chipping mill in the world and before that, home to the Oyster Bay people of trayapana — is being lovingly and painstakingly restored. Sunday begins with a mind-expanding breath workshop with Dave Murphy and a cold water swim. Spend the day exploring the East Coast, then head home energised, nourished, and inspired.

Want to do it all?

Our exclusive NOCTURNA Retreat tickets have now sold out. You can still buy a NOCTURNA Saturday Pass

Join Waitlist

Presenting Partner

In Association With

Programming Partners

A Seat at the Table

Beaker Street Festival’s pay-it-forward initiative, A Seat at the Table, helps make our science and art offerings accessible to those who can’t afford to purchase a ticket. When you buy a ticket you have the option to donate towards the cost of a stranger’s ticket. You won’t know who you’ve helped, but your donation will go directly to allowing someone else to access this great event.

If you’d like to request one or two free tickets, please let us know. If we can offer you a seat, we’ll notify you by email.

AI-generated image using prompts, 2023. Midjourney. Courtesy of Beaker Street.

Join Waitlist

Spring Bay Mill

Spring Bay Mill is a sustainable events venue on the east coast of lutruwita/Tasmania. Garden-to-plate goodness, modern facilities, award-winning accommodation and an intricate landscape yield to a backdrop like no other for events that are both intimate and spectacular.

Accessibility

Everyone enters key spaces via gentle ramps and wide doors. Fully wheelchair accessible accommodation is available in the Ridge Quarters. Note the site is large and some areas require a walk over uneven surfaces. With advance notice, we can offer any of our guests with mobility needs the option to be escorted around the site in our electric shuttle bus ‘The Volts Wagon.’ Please contact us in advance if you have any accessibility concerns or questions. Please note, as a Dark Sky Event, we will be using minimal lighting at night. We recommend bringing a red torch to assist with moving around the site. For particular accessibility concerns please contact [email protected]

Address

555 Freestone Point Rd, Triabunna TAS 7190

Phone Number

(03) 6130 3007

Website

https://www.springbaymill.com/