Cave entrance
Engelbrecht Cave East
Cave: CDAA site rating [1] [3] (East passage to the main chamber rock pile.). Advanced Cave: CDAA site rating [2] [3] (East Extension (EEX), advanced sidemount only.). These categories are the named scheme's own; they describe the training a site calls for.
The eastern dive entrance of Engelbrecht Cave: a Cave-rated, low silty sump of about 70 m to an air chamber, and the way on to the Advanced Cave, sidemount-only East Extension.
Divers reach the East passage down a short, steep stairway inside the eastern tourist cave. A low, flat, silty passage of about 70 m leads to an inner air chamber and lake, with some side passages along the way; the CDAA gives a maximum depth of 8 m.
From the air chamber, Advanced Cave divers can climb over the rock pile into the East Extension (EEX), which the CDAA describes as more than 400 m of passage to 22 m with dry squeezes and a sump whose water level changes with the seasons. Cave-rated divers must stop at the main chamber rock pile, EEX is sidemount-only, and training is not allowed there.
The environment
Shallow, fresh, silty sump under the town; air chamber with rock pile; tight, fragile passages in the extension.
Facilities
Café, tour desk, viewing platforms, toilets and picnic areas at the show cave.
Other entrances to Engelbrecht Cave
For orientation, not navigation. Hollow dots are approximate.
Every fact on this page, with its source (8)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The East passage is Cave rated and the East Extension is Advanced Cave rated. | Verified | [1] [2] [3] |
| The East passage extends about 70 m from the doline opening with a maximum depth of 8 m.The East Extension beyond it reaches 22 m (s2). | Verified | [1] |
| The East Extension is an advanced sidemount-only site; Cave-rated divers must not go beyond the main chamber rock pile, and no training is permitted there. | Verified | [2] |
| Diving is permitted between 8 AM and 8 PM daily; the East Extension allows a maximum of four divers in each of two timeslots (8am-2pm and 2pm-8pm). | Verified | [1] [2] |
| Divers collect a key from the Lady Nelson Visitor Centre during business hours, sign in and out, keep gates locked, and return the key afterwards; only two keys exist. | Verified | [1] |
| The show cave has a café, tour desk, viewing platforms, toilets and picnic areas. | Verified | [1] |
| Coordinates are the mapped entrance of the public show cave. | Verified | [4] |
| Coordinates are the mapped entrance of the public show cave. | Verified | [4] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction