Picnic Rocks is an extensive reef system, about 500 m long, running out from Deep Creek north of Eddystone Point. The Marine Life Network guide rates it 6 out of 10 and describes large granite bommies forming a scenic maze of overhangs and caves in 6-12 m, with banded morwong, leatherjackets, wrasse, long-snouted boarfish and crayfish. It notes heavy fishing pressure and exposure to easterly weather.

The Deep Creek campground makes Picnic Rocks the natural base for a self-sufficient diving trip to the Eddystone area, and the bommie maze is the most interesting topography in the district. Treat the depths, positions and conditions given here as a starting point, and confirm them with local divers and a depth sounder before committing to a dive.

The far north-east corner of Tasmania, from Eddystone Point to Cape Portland and Swan Island, is one of the most remote stretches of the state's coast. Roads north of St Helens and around Gladstone are partly gravel, the nearest shops are at Gladstone, Derby or Bridport, and there are no dive services at all. The Marine Life Network guide, written from the experience of Launceston divers, is still the only detailed published account of most of these sites.

Where Bass Strait meets the Tasman Sea around Cape Portland and the Swan Island group, tidal streams run hard, and the guide repeatedly stresses slack water, safety lines and experienced boat handlers for the wreck sites. The Royal Hobart Hospital chamber is five hours or more away by road, so any diving here should be conservative and planned with an evacuation route in mind.

Eddystone Point is at the northern end of the Bay of Fires, about 1 hr 15 min from St Helens via the gravel Ansons Bay Road or 40 km from Gladstone via the Eddystone Point Road (partly gravel), and about 2 hr 45 min from Launceston. The lighthouse reserve has a small gulch used as a boat 'ramp' for launching small boats. Picnic Rocks are off Deep Creek, where there is a campground a few kilometres north of the lighthouse.

Boats launched at the Eddystone gulch reach them in about 10 minutes; shore diving from Deep Creek involves a long surface swim. There are no marinas or fuel on this coast apart from the towns named, so carry spare fuel, a VHF radio and an EPIRB, leave a trip plan ashore, and check MAST boating advice; many north-coast ramps are shallow at low tide, and a 4WD tow vehicle is a real advantage.

Eddystone Point faces east into the Tasman Sea and is exposed to any easterly or north-easterly swell and the summer sea breeze. Westerly and south-westerly winds give the calmest conditions. After rough weather or plankton blooms visibility can be poor.

Use the Bureau of Meteorology coastal forecast for the North East Coast and Banks Strait, and check tide times for the nearest standard port before planning the run.

Drop among the large bommies at 8-10 m and weave through the maze of overhangs and caves, keeping track of direction on this extensive reef. Turn the dive at half gas (thirds where current or overhead sections are involved), deploy an SMB before surfacing for the live-boat pick-up, and complete a 3-minute safety stop at about 5 m where depth allows.

No commercial operator. Dived occasionally by Launceston clubs and Tasmanian Divers (Launceston) groups, and by private boats and cray divers. Remote - full self-sufficiency required.