| Boesmansgat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Daniëlskuil,Northern Cape |
| Coordinates | 27°55′18″S23°38′30″E / 27.92167°S 23.64167°E /-27.92167; 23.64167 |
| Depth | 283 m (928 ft) |
| Elevation | 1500 metres |
  Boesmansgat (South Africa) Show map of South Africa Boesmansgat (Northern Cape) Show map of Northern Cape | |
Boesmansgat (orBushmansgat), also known in English as "Bushman's Hole", is a deep submerged freshwatercave (orsinkhole) in theNorthern Capeprovince ofSouth Africa, which has been dived to a depth of 282.6 metres (927 ft).
The greatest depth attained was byNuno Gomes in 1996, diving to a depth of 282.6 metres (927 ft). Its altitude of over 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) makes this a particularly challenging dive, requiring adecompression schedule equivalent for a dive to 339 metres (1,112 ft) at sea level.[1] 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.[2]
On 24 November 2004, Verna van Schaik set theGuinness Woman's World Record for the deepest scuba dive by a woman, diving down to a depth of 221 metres (725 ft).[3]
In October 2022 Karen van den Oever broke her own Guinness World Record[4] when she descended to 246.65 metres (809.2 ft) using open-circuit equipment.[5]
In May 2024,Richard Harris used hydrogen as a breathing gas in his twin rebreather system to explore the bottom of the cave, at a depth of 284m (931 ft). On his second dive to the same depth, this time accompanied by long time friendCraig Challen, Harris suffered spinal decompression sickness requiring treatment in a Johannesburg Hospital.
InMo Hayder's novelRitual (2008), the death of the parents of one of the protagonists while diving in Bushman's Hole is an important plot device.[9]
The 2005 attempt to recover Deon Dreyer's body that led to the death of Dave Shaw is the subject of the 2020 documentaryDave Not Coming Back.
"The Last Dive of David Shaw"[10], the third track of Australian post-rock bandWe Lost the Sea's albumDeparture Songs, was inspired by the same incident.
