New perspectives in tunnels

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
Feb 202012
 
New perspectives in tunnels

About the site The photo above was taken in Tank Cave, although it could easily be taken in almost any tunnel of about the same size. Tank has shallow depths allowing plenty of time for photos, and with over 8km of interconnecting tunnels there’s a lot of clear water to play in. The cave also shows a lot of variation between different areas of the cave with white walled breakdown chambers giving way to orange tunnels and dark brown rooms. About the dive This particular dive was the first of the weekend, without any particular photography goals in mind. We travelled down the Gold Line to visit an offshoot tunnel known as the A extension. This area of the cave [read more…]

Exposure compromises in Kilsby’s Sinkhole

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
Feb 132012
 
Exposure compromises in Kilsby's Sinkhole

About the site Kilsby’s Sinkhole is a huge, crystal clear freshwater cave formation in Mt Gambier. From most areas in the cave you can look back and see daylight, although past 40m you can get down between the rocks. A classic sinkhole formation created by a roof collapse thousands of years ago, Kilsby’s has a rockpile in the middle coming up to 15m depth or less. One side descends to 25m or so, and the other down to 60m+. Visibility is usually in excess of 40m – you can watch divers swim along the opposite wall and see their trailing bubbles ascend to the surface above. About the dive The clear water, natural light and sheer size of the space [read more…]

Long exposure in the Shaft III

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  2 Responses »
Jan 232012
 
Long exposure in the Shaft III

About the site The Shaft is a site that I’ve talked about twice before. From a manhole-sized hole in the middle of a paddock divers are lowered to the water’s surface 8m below. After gearing up in the water you drop into the depths below – the central rockpile and debris cone starts at 35m, and the cave gets down to over 100m on one side. The walls are predominantly black and the small entrance means there’s very little natural light in the cave. Dive lights struggle across the huge distances. In summer the angle of the sun allows rays of sunlight to pierce the darkness. The ambient light coming straight down the hole is enough for the human eye [read more…]

Sunlight through Kilsby’s Sinkhole

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  5 Responses »
Jan 162012
 
Sunlight through Kilsby's Sinkhole

About the site Kilsby’s Sinkhole is perhaps the single best reason to do your Deep Cavern course with the Cave Diver’s Association of Australia. With crystal clear water filling the huge open amphitheatre, other divers appear to be swimming through space. Moving back under the roof at the deep end allows you to look out into the sunlit daylight zone. Alternatively, you can swim on down between the white limestone with trimix dives allowed to 60m. It’s been my favourite dive in Mt Gambier for years, although closely followed by Piccaninnie Ponds and Tank Cave. I took some photos in here back in winter which were nice but not stunning. They were hampered by the high sides of the sinkhole blocking [read more…]

Cave diving training in Goulden’s Sinkhole

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  1 Response »
Jan 022012
 
Cave diving training in Goulden's Sinkhole

About the site Gouldens is the cave diving training hole in Mt Gambier. Characteristically green and murky, all three levels of CDAA cave diving training start with dives here. Simulated equipment failures and appropriate emergency procedures are demonstrated and practised. By the end of a training course, the black organic silt across the bottom of the hole is usually evenly distributed throughout the water, with vis reduced to a few feet. As a result, very few divers get back in here for what’s possibly a nice dive. I say possibly because I’m one of them, and I haven’t dived in Gouldens without an instructor in the water, either for my training or when assisting with someone else’s. About the dive [read more…]

Long exposure in the Shaft II

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  3 Responses »
Dec 192011
 
Long exposure in the Shaft II

About the site The Shaft is a massive sinkhole in the Limestone Coast, near Mt Gambier. A solution tube in the middle of a sheep paddock has created a small entrance to a spectacular underground cavern. From 1m in diameter at ground level, to 20m in diameter at the water’s surface a short ladder climb below, the cave expands to over 100m across at the point where this photo was taken, 38m deep. The sinkhole turns into two large tunnels on each side of the central rockpile, with the longer one descending to over 100m in depth. Despite the crystal clear water, the walls are predominantly black and the sheer size of the area means dive torches don’t reach very [read more…]

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