Mount Gambier · Australia · Cave & cavern · Freshwater
Engelbrecht Cave
A flooded cave running under the streets of Mount Gambier
Area photo: Mark Whatmough · CC BY 2.0
Engelbrecht Cave sits under the Mount Gambier urban area on Chute Street, owned by the City of Mount Gambier and run as a tourist cave that divers can also enter. Two flooded passages branch off the sinkhole, one short and one running roughly 300 metres beneath the streets above, and the water reaches 12 metres deep.
Also known as Engelbrechts Cave.
Where it is and how deep
37.8206° S, 140.7722° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The system is two primary passages branching from a single sinkhole, and which one you dive depends on the grade you hold. The eastern passage runs about 70 metres and leads to a lake connected to an air chamber, so the dive is a there-and-back along a fairly contained line. Water depth through the system tops out at 12 metres, with the water level held at 12 metres above sea level.
The western passage is the longer half: roughly 300 metres of flooded cave, including a major air chamber that sits immediately below Jubilee Highway West, with the road running directly overhead. That passage is the one the CDAA gates at Advanced Cave grade, a step above the Cave grade that covers the eastern side, so the certification line between the two halves of the same sinkhole is a real one rather than paperwork.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Mount Gambier: Every site is spring- or aquifer-fed, so temperature holds steady all year; the one fixed closure is Ewens Ponds from 1 September to 30 November, and winter is reported as Kilsby's clearest water.
Know before you go
- The western passage is roughly 300 metres of overhead cave, which is why the CDAA holds it at Advanced Cave grade while the eastern passage sits at Cave grade.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Engelbrecht Cave?+
The cave reaches 12 metres in depth, with the water level throughout the system maintained at 12 metres above sea level.
Which certification do the two passages need?+
The eastern passage, about 70 metres to a lake and air chamber, needs the CDAA Cave grade. The western passage, roughly 300 metres long and running under Jubilee Highway West, needs the CDAA Advanced Cave grade.
Sources
- Engelbrecht Cave — Wikipedia
- Cave Dive Sites by Region — Cave Divers Association of Australia
- Diving in South Australia — Wikivoyage
More dive sites in Mount Gambier
Freshwater
Drift through three linked limestone ponds on an Open Water certificate alone
Freshwater
A roadside sinkhole in 30-million-year-old limestone
Freshwater
The area's cave-training sinkhole, CDAA-rated Basic Cave
Freshwater
Farmland sinkhole diving to 40 m in water that runs 30 to 60 m of visibility
Freshwater
A 50 m cenote starting at 25 m, with a 1966 car resting on its silty floor
Freshwater
A limestone chasm over 100 m deep, reached through a Ramsar wetland pond
Freshwater
A metre-wide hole in a paddock over a 140 m chamber
Similar dives elsewhere
A guano-floored side pool linked underwater to the main Sleeping Pool shaft
Light beams through cave roofs with trevally circling
Taíno artefacts in place in a 9 m freshwater cave
An iron grate closes the most dangerous part of the cave in the Ballroom