Mount Gambier · Australia · Freshwater · Cave & cavern
Gouldens Sinkhole
Mount Gambier's cave-training sinkhole, CDAA-rated Basic Cave
Area photo: Mark Whatmough · CC BY 2.0
Gouldens Sinkhole, or Gouldens Waterhole, is a limestone sinkhole near Mount Schank. It lies south of Mount Gambier, and divers describe it as the best cave training water in the area. The Cave Divers Association of Australia rates it Basic Cave under the site code 5L8, and only CDAA-certified divers and students on a course are allowed in. It bottoms out at about 20 metres.
Also known as Gouldens Waterhole.
Where it is and how deep
37.9467° S, 140.6827° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
This is a shore dive into a flooded limestone sinkhole rather than a swim along anything. You kit up at the edge, drop through the surface pool and follow the rock down; the floor sits at about 20 metres, which is the maximum the site offers. The shape is typical of the sinkholes scattered across this part of the Limestone Coast, so what you are looking at is rock and fresh water rather than reef or fish.
Because it is first and foremost a training site, most dives here are structured rather than exploratory: line work, buoyancy and drills run well inside the 20-metre maximum. Access is gated by the Cave Divers Association of Australia rather than by an operator, so you need current membership and the Basic Cave rating that covers 5L8, or you need to be a student on a course being run by someone who holds it.
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 | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Mount Gambier: The spring water holds steady through the year; Ewens Ponds closes to divers from 1 September to 30 November.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Gouldens Sinkhole?+
It drops to about 20 metres at its maximum depth, shallow by the standards of the district's deeper sinkholes. The Cave Divers Association of Australia rates the site Basic Cave under the code 5L8.
What certification do I need for Gouldens Sinkhole?+
A CDAA Basic Cave rating covering site 5L8. Students may dive it while enrolled on a course; there is no open-access option for certified recreational divers without the CDAA rating.
Sources
- Gouldens Sinkhole - Scubago dive site page — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
- Cave Dive Sites by Region — Cave Divers Association of Australia
- Gouldens Waterhole - Cave Diving, Bookings & Visitor Guide — Mount Gambier Point
In The Logbook
- Cave diving: what it takes and where to goCaves & caverns · 12 min read
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