ENGLEBRECHT CAVE

In recent years Postcards has ventured into many of the underground wonders of the Limestone Coast… from the World Heritage Listed Naracoorte Caves…. To the mysterious sink holes like Picanninnie Ponds and Ewen Ponds near Port MacDonnell.

But in the region's main centre - Mount Gambier - there's a combination of both…. A fascinating open cave and watery wonderland that extends for several hundred meters under the houses, roads and footpaths of the Mount.

But it wasn't always like this… one of the cave's earliest owners Carl Englebrecht used this opening as a dumping ground for rubbish for his nearby whiskey distillery.

"Once Carl Englebrecht started dumping rubbish lot's of other people did as well. So they just started tipping rubbish down this. Yes.. and there's a hole in the other side of the cave where he probably dumped rubbish and of course rubbish being dumped and walked on it just got pushed down and down."

In the past others made forays into Englebrecht Cave…. But accumulated debris... built up over generations meant they couldn't get too far. I wasn't until the 1980's… when a crane removed 4000 cubic meters of soil and rubbish… that the way was open to fully appreciate the marvels of Englebrecht.

"Well it's twenty seven meters underground when we're down at this level… and that's about the equivalent of an eight storey building."

"Edit"

"If you'd like to follow me down below there... it's a little bit tricky… but we'll go down here…"

This is where cave divers enter the water at Englebrecht. The water temperature is pretty constant… between 12 and 14 degrees…. But the heart rate certainly isn't. To dive here in the western section of the cave you need to be what's called a penetration diver…. With highest levels of training.

"But going through there they have to be extremely careful because it has a black silt floor and if they stir that up of course they can experience what's known as black out or nil visibility. And that's pretty scary because you can't see where you've come from and you can't see where you're going…. So of course they have their safety lines which they use when they're going through that passageway."

Englebrecht Cave is yet another reminder of what lies beneath much of the limestone coast…. With this underwater maze stretching beneath the Jubilee Highway not far from the centre of town.

The entrance to Englebrecht Cave is situated on the Jubilee Highway. For tour times contact 8724 9750.