Boesmansgat, also known in English as "Bushman's Hole", is a deep submerged freshwater
cave (or
sinkhole) in the
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...
province of
South Africa, which has been dived to a depth of .
Boesmansgat was believed to have first been explored by amateur diver Mike Rathbourne, in 1977. The greatest depth attained was by
Nuno Gomes in 1996, diving to a depth of . Its altitude of over makes this a particularly challenging dive, requiring a
decompression schedule equivalent for a dive to at sea level. Gomes' dive was a close call, as he got stuck in the mud on the bottom of Bushman's Hole for two minutes before escaping.
On 24 November 2004, Verna van Schaik set the
Guinness Woman's World Record for the deepest dive by diving down to a depth of .
In October 2022 Karen van den Oever broke her own Guinness World Record as the world’s deepest diving woman when she descended to . feet using open-circuit equipment.
Deaths
*In 1993, Eben Leyden died after blacking out at a depth of 60 meters (197 ft). Leyden was brought up immediately by diving buddy Boetie Sheun but could not be revived.
*In 1994, while helping a team prepare for a dive,
Deon Dreyer died on ascent at a depth of .
Dreyer's body remained in the cave until being discovered ten years later at a depth of by cave diver Dave Shaw.
*On 8 January 2005,
Dave Shaw
David John Shaw (20 July 1954 – 8 January 2005) was an Australian scuba diver, technical diver, and airline pilot for Cathay Pacific, flying the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, then the 747-400, and then the A330-300, A340-300, and A340-600. H ...
died after becoming tangled in the line while attempting to recover Dreyer's body. (Shaw's close friend and support diver, Don Shirley, nearly died as well and was left with permanent ear damage that has impaired his balance.
) On 12 January 2005, Dreyer and Shaw's bodies were ultimately recovered near the surface, while members of the dive team were recovering technical equipment, which included a camera that filmed Shaw’s last moments in the water.
In literature
In
Mo Hayder's novel ''Ritual'' (2008), the death of the parents of one of the protagonists while diving in Bushman's Hole is an important plot device.
References
Caves of South Africa
Underwater diving sites in South Africa
Sinkholes of Africa
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