Piccaninnie Ponds Chamber of Secrets: Ron takes a "dip" on the Limestone Coast in the South East region of South Australia
In the dreamlike world of Piccaninnie Ponds, cave divers face a continual battle as they marvel at the magic of the underwater world and stay focused on the job at hand. It's a surreal environment where the rapture of the deep is tempered by a profound awareness that some divers have lost their lives here. Richard Harris, knows a thing or two about 'altered states'. In his day-today-life he's an anesthetist - carefully guiding his patients in and out of consciousness but when diving he's fully alert to the stark beauty and danger of what cave divers lovingly call 'Pics'.
Richard Harris, Cave Divers Association of Aust.: "The Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park is without question a world class site and for cave divers. It's perhaps the best known cave diving site in Australia. It has a world wide reputation as a first class site."
We caught up with Richard in his back shed as he did some running repairs on his camera gear. He freely admits cave diving and the camera work that goes with it have become something of an obsession.
Richard Harris, Cave Divers Association of Aust.: "It's like going to the Eiffel Tower - you know, you've seen it on TV. For me going to Piccaninnie Ponds for the first time was a bit like that - you know what to expect but the reality is breathtaking even compared to what you're expecting.
"It does take your breath away - you find yourself hyper-ventilating when you first look down into that enormous chasm. You snorkel over the first pond which is very shallow but crystal clear and you come to a beautiful reed curtain which literally parts in front of your eyes and you look down into a bottomless abyss. It's an amazing feeling. If they are not used to it some people get a sudden sense of vertigo as they swim over and look down into this deep dark blue mysterious hole. That captures your imagination as a diver - the first thing you want to do is swim down there and have a look."
A permit from the Department for Environment and Heritage allows you to glide over the top of the chasm - safe in the knowledge that you're on the surface of a deep drop off that extends about 110 metres below - as far as we know. Others like Richard are a special breed with a unique temperament allowing them to overcome the claustrophobia most would feel in a dark and confined watery world known as the 'Pics' because of its brackish nature .
Richard Harris, Cave Divers Association of Aust.: "This cave is very different in shape to the normal bell shape. It's more a fissure cave or a horizontal chasm or slot and you can see by the rock walls that it's been shaped over the eons by the movement of water."
That means there are many narrow corridors to be explored with a permanent rope as a lifeline which enables divers to find their way in and out.
Richard Harris, Cave Divers Association of Aust.: "An absolute golden rule of cave diving is always have a line all the way into the cave and all the way out to the surface so if the lights go out you can just push the thing around the line and follow it out. A lot of the training involves zero visibility diving."
On a recent dive Richard Harris and his mate John Dalla-zuanna obtained a special permit and pushed further than any divers had ever gone at "Pics" to a depth of 110 metres. In doing so they came across something truly miraculous.
Richard Harris, Cave Divers Association of Aust.: "It's every cave diver's dream to find a new piece of cave but to find a spectacular big chamber in a place that thousands of people are diving every year is pretty special. No-one had seen it. It's about thirty to forty metres long and about fifteen metres wide. And we called it the "Chamber of Secrets" after Harry Potter."
The "Chamber of Secrets" is now one more "Pics" secret revealed but for the man who uncovered it the feeling is pretty unique.
Richard Harris, Cave Divers Association of Aust.: "The cliché 'more blokes have walked on the moon than have been to a place like Piccaninnie ponds' is very true. It's an incredible feeling to be the first person in a place like that."
Piccaninnie Ponds is about thirty 30 kms south of Mount Gambier off the Nelson Road. For permits contact 8735 1177. For information about diving contact the Cave Divers' Association of Australia. If you have any further question please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
Piccaninnie Ponds
Look for signs off Nelson Road
30 kms south of Mount Gambier
Permits: 8735 1177Publised 26th September 2010
