Boesmansgat (Bushman's Hole) South Africa 

Me too... 😊

Same, i'm addicted to those stories.

Same here

Me too!

Hell yeah

That would be my wish......that we could have huge bright illumination and it would be like floating in some space-like giant cavern. I'd be so fascinated that I might, uh......run out of oxygen just looking at the place.

How big is it ? I heard 280m deep by 90m width? holy moly this would need a huge light source at the bottom

I just thought that..

@@hawaiianprestigecars8493 they think it's about 900 feet. Huge for sure.

@@mayn90s19 you wouldnt see how big it is since you cant really look that far or light it out with high beams.

Correct, the walls are quite dark, and the sinkhole is massive in size. I had one of the most powerful LED primary lights on my wrist (4K lumen), and it was eaten up. Folks have suggested bringing even more powerful lights to bear, and while I have four each 10K lumen video lights, the logistics of getting all that firepower down there, and deployed so it can be utilized, and retrieved, is another matter. When doing a 500' dive, for example, our primary objective is coming back alive and not with DCS. If we overtask ourselves with extra gear, we might end up bent or worse, so we make it as simple as possible. I have been using a helmet with GoPro mount since 2012, and the primary light is standard, so nothing out of the ordinary in my setup. This made for a relatively safe deep dive at Bushman's.

Yeeh i ve been waiting for so long to see it in HD footage

@@ahmedelouazizi6581 yeah, imagine place was lit up , that small pond (entrance to the cave) looks so innocent

@rocket queen yeh when you see it from above you think it's only 3 or 5 meters deep due to the "small" surface of the water.

Indeed so...

Better stay on the line, or you certainly can get lost. The sinkhole is huge, biggest I have seen. Bigger than Diepolder III in Florida, and that place is giant.

yeah. I think its only Devils hole in America that has a unique branch of pupfish right?

@@thedude4795 that too only at the surface level. Nothing as you go down deeper

I think I am the first American diving it since Sheck, if I am not mistaken. Nuno eventually moved to Brooklyn NY, only a few miles from me.

it is something else indeed. Can't wait to get back there.

@@wcs563 When do you plan to go back? Will you be filming the dive again? This footage is incredible

@@issimonetethis is my question i would like to see the bottom

Certainly caution was there, we were fully prepared, trained and experienced for such a dive. My major concerns were computer controllers for my rebreather, which had been acting up. I had yet a third off board computer in case my two controller failed, which only one acted up. I had cut slates, transferred to wet notes, in case of a worst case situation where I had to bailout onto open circuit, but fortunately, everything worked pretty much as planned.

@@wcs563 As a novice scuba diver with zero experience with anything deep (and never will go deep), I've had a fascination with the Bushman's Hole. Thanks for the video. Does it cost money to dive there (as in, is it private property and you have to pay a fee?) Who owns the pit, and do you have to get some special permission?

@@RedFoxAce Your Reply is in your First Line of Question.

What about the guy that was there for 10 years

@@munger2222 Dion was recovered in 2005, by David Shaw, who died recovering his body.

Very similar indeed...

He was in a wetsuit, so those can get negative as the neoprene compresses, as well as his BCD, as the deeper one goes, the more compressed the air volume gets. Deon's twin tanks because quite negative and he sank right to the bottom as stayed there for ten years. It's possible that after a few days/weeks on the bottom, as his body decayed, he blew up from gases inside his body, which might have sent him up, but with no one there to see him, eventually he would have sunk back down again, as his body decomposed further...

Can I ask if they recover Deon's body and Dave's by now??? Sorry but I was so curious.

@@shannenpebenito473 they did they both floated up to the surface

@@shannenpebenito473 they recovered them 2 days after Dave’s last dive

@@bodekissner9822 They didn't float up they both were caught up in the line and when they pulled the line up to retreive the bailout cylinders they came up with them.

Guess that a helmet mounted GoPro and a simple primary light isn't enough. I certainly can light it like a Nat Geo video, as evidenced by my photography and other videos, I work in film production for a living. When you have a budget for a full blown shoot at Bushman's, you can get in touch with me and we do such a shoot.

@@wcs563 I think this Bushman hole it s more appealing to daredevils. Almost all the information we get as human beings is from the sense of vision. If you cannot see or your sight is limited ( and you explained very well why) there is just darkness . It is the same with oceans ' abysses. Under 100 meters it s all dark. At least at those depths you can see ,sometimes, some awkward deep fishes and other deep creatures. I respect your passion for your job, but it really doesn't resonate with me. All the best!!!

Also, what does it feel like to be floating in that huge space? Do you get disoriented at all? Might as well be in outer space when the torch light disappears into blackness

The bottom and return safely

I am used to diving in such places, I have been diving a flooded mine since 2014, and it's as black as that, but not near the depth, at only 100 meters.

@@wcs563 I hope one day, you can make a full descent and return from the bottom safely. That would be mind blowing.

AS long as you are experienced and qualified to do these dives, they are relatively safe. I find it more risky driving to and from the mine, than actually doing the diving!

The closest I ever came to this environment was diving the Blue Hole in Belize, which was amazing. I was too narced to be afraid, even with the two bull sharks swimming right below us. But just knowing the history of Bushman's Hole and Shaw's attempt to recover Deon sends shudders down my spine!

Computers have improved, yes. Rebreathers have not changed too much. What killed Dave was he made a critical mistake on how he assembled his BioMarine MK 15.5 CCR. You can see is detail on my interview with Kevin Juergensen in my TecDiver Chronicle episode 1, right near the end, Kevin describes how Dave made a mistake. I have done Bushman's, provided I didn't go all the way to the bottom, but simple mistakes can kill you on such dives, technology will NOT save you. Experience and focus will.

@@wcs563 I see thanks for that great podcast, as i understand there isn't any technology obstacle aganist it if you use them correctly and maybe creating check list for important parts like filter placement though can i ask why you didn't dive to the deepest part of bushman ? i ask because you mentioned you brought your entire equipment from new york to south africa which is a big thing, by the way if you ever think come to the Turkey i can guide you and give free translation we have also tons of caves probably never discovered before because cave diving isn't a even thing in a Turkey many caves were discovered by foreginers

Almost all caves dived have had deaths, this one is remote and not dived very often, so actually much fewer fatalities than regularly visited caves. There are caves in my home country of US that have had hundreds of deaths, we just try not to join them.

The closure you get to the bottom, the farther away you'll be from idiots!😄 In all seriousness, I love the water. I am a free diver and love seeing what is beneath the surface. You can find cool treasure in areas where no one else looks in, and just really neat stuff. 💙

"Diving into Darkness" by Phillip Finch is one....

nope bro. Only thing left is deyon's head that came off during the shaw attempt to get his body up both of their bodies floated up a while later though

I wish I lived so close!!! I had to fly all the way from New York City to get there, with 250 pounds of gear in tow. I'd have to own my own fill station to actually conduct any diving, as there are no dive shops within hundreds of miles.

I have not yet been to those caves.

@@wcs563 Hi Dan there is a video on You Tube showing the caves and divers.That water stays a a constant temperature.it is a lovely blue azure colour.Another place to dive is the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa.

It was a constant process, I believe that when we were doing the 180' circuit around the entire sinkhole, extra tanks were taken with us in case we bailed out on open circuit, since it was a long swim. At that point we were also staging for the 300' dive the next day, and then there was a 500' dive a couple days later.

The way it works, is over millions of years the water eats away at the stone, all the particulate falls to the bottom. This is a giant sinkhole, the biggest I have ever seen.

@@wcs563 thank u for educating me. U scuba 🤿 divers are fearless. Love these videos.

I believe yes, on both counts. The advances in rebreather diving would have made it less dangerous. Dave's buddy, Don Shirley, almost died because of a technical failure of his primary rebreather handset, which controlled the solenoid which injected O2 as required. Don had to abort his possible rescue of Dave because his primary failed, as it imploded, and he was worried if his secondary failed, it would be almost certain death. Units today can handle greater depths.

@@wcs563 Thank you for the reply. This really makes Nuno Gomes , Sheck Exley and Dave shaws dives (dive where he discovered Deons body) all the more impressive, as they took place so many years ago. I hope you get a chance to get to surpass the 150m mark. Do you plan to dive the Blue Hole?

@@komeshanchetty2250 possibly, but it's an expedition and very expensive having a portable chamber on site with doctor. Also, it's a matter if the Shirley's would even go for another trip to the bottom.

A ROV would be the best way to search for the skull of Deyon, as many are capable to handle the depth and can be used to capture or grab it in some way. I believe there was only the skull and mask, not a hood, but I am not sure, I could ask Don.

@@wcs563 thanks dan, check back with Don if you can what he thinks. No one should try going to the bottom obviously, too dangerous. Do you know if anyone has been at the bottom in the last 17 years since 2005 ?

@@wcs563 another thing I just thought about was do you know if there is any significant water movement or current down there ? if not the head should exactly be in the spot where Dave found the body.

I have not seen the body, it was recovered in 2005, I visited in 2019.

@@wcs563 thank you

I don’t think it was recovered. Two divers lay at the bottom now.

@@KarstRats It have been recovered since 2005 by Dave Shaw but in cost his live while doing it

@@KarstRats Both Deon and Dave's bodies were recovered in January 2005, well documented.

I only saw a Coi in the basin, no doubt stocked there by someone. Nothing in the cave itself.

I can't recall exactly, it may have been he was staging for the deeper dives coming up the next day.

@@wcs563 Thanks

Just a sinkhole by my information.

Boesmansgat is in South Africa

I would like to, hoping for a 200 meter push this year, but this damn Corona Virus has thrown things way off for the time being.

@@wcs563 Do you think you will ever dive the 270/280 Meter some day? Would that be a goal of yours?

about 283 meters, known. Both Scheck Exley, Nuno Gomes, and Dave Shaw made it to the bottom, and all survived the first trip. Only Dave tried a second time to the bottom, and it cost him his life.

Dan Wright wow that’s crazy you guys are very brave that’s a scary hobby or sport is there anything living down there that you can see like weird creepy creatures or fish

Dan Wright why did dan go by himself to the rescue mission and nobody else

@@alexrodriguez484 It was a recovery only. Dave felt he could do it himself and Don Shirley was there as a support diver, not to go to the bottom. This was very well rehearsed, with many teams of deep support and shallow support divers, going in in symphony. The unexpected happened, and Dave overexerted himself at max depth, building up too much CO2, and basically put himself to sleep. Don attempted to get to Dave, but had a failure of his primary CCR controller and 250 meters, he had to abort to save his own life.

@@alexrodriguez484 Dave Shaw, not Dan! He has a huge support team, and Don Shirley right behind him. Unfortunately Don could not go to the bottom to save his friend, as his primary controller to his rebreather imploded, and he had choice but to abort at 250 meters. Don barely survived the 13 hour dive, and to this day, he still suffers from the bends he incurred. Sense of balance will never be the same for him in his left ear, I witnessed this in person.

Tanks staged in case of a rebreather failure.

Deon Dreyer

He was recovering Deon Dreyer's body, lost for ten years.

Oh k

The floor is nearly 900' down. I doubt anyone would risk their lives to locate a skull. The family have closure, in most of his remains were brought to the surface, at an incredible cost, Dave Shaw's life.

Probably not possible, because at this depth you can stay only about 5 minutes.

Deons skull was not attached to the body when it floated up?

@@thedude4795 It was already really decomposed and detached when Shaw was putting Deon’s remains into a body bag.

@@thedude4795 The only bones that would stay would be in the wetsuit. Everything else like the feet, hands and head would be detached as its not contained inside the suit.

we did not go all the way to the bottom, Shaw died on the bottom, but floated back up.

@@wcs563 I heard that he was tangled in the lines along with Deon and when they recovred the equipment 2 days later they were connected to the line they retreived, is that true?

True, but it is complicated as to what happened. There have been books written about that dive and a movie.

Yes, the challenge I had was in the weight of all the gear being flown from New York to Jo'berg. Limited on how much I could physically bring, elected to focus on the equipment that was to keep me alive.

@@wcs563 ohh i see.. 😍..

Not at all, it's exciting and somewhat daunting, for certain. Every cave I have ever dived, and mines too, has cost lives, it's nothing unusual.

No, his body floated up when they pulled up the down line just a few days after the accident.

Oh ok because the fact you pretty much went down the same way as him but didn't go as much deeper then he did to recover Deon you would've most likely got stuck yourself

@@xboxboyz3453 Shaw did not get stuck, he died because he passed out from too much CO2 in his gas supply, this basically put him to sleep. It's a giant sinkhole, you can't get trapped, unless you really try. The danger is the depth and managing the decompression.

What is CO2 and apparently he got caught up in the wire

@@xboxboyz3453 CO2 is a gas Carbon Dioxide and toxic in large quantities. Humans take in oxygen and breathe out CO2. Basically what happened to Dave Shaw is that he got tangled up with Deons body and in trying to free himself he over exerted himself and passed out due to buildup of CO2.

Now you have.......evidently a few people have also, but it is rarely dived and even less filmed.

It can be done, all it takes is a lot of equipment and money to do it.

@@wcs563 Sounds like a go fund me haha, would love to see it in its holy

Dave Shaw and Don Shirley suffered, Dan Wright had no issues with my 504' dive.

@@wcs563 congratulations for the incredible dive 🎊🎉

@@wcs563 hehe

I've dived caves where there have been many more deaths than just two, Boesmansgat is challenging, but not scary to me, I loved it.

@@wcs563 yeah I know i use to fit in a tight place behind my couch when I become a little older I will go because i can do it

No marks from the divers who perished, they simply passed out, no one was trapped.

That's fine, don't dive there.

@@wcs563 I won't , sir . I'm sure I won't .

@@wcs563 Sir , I know who you are and what you do . I respect and admire your accomplishments as a diver but when I watched the video , that was my honest reaction . I am sorry if I bother or offended you in any way .

@@armandojuan64 think the story behind it is what makes this cave so awesome but the cave itself seem bland & boring hehe