News

A team of Australian cave divers has made a record breaking dive in one of the world’s deepest, cold water caves; but has yet to reach the bottom of this mysterious New Zealand cave.

Thought to be the source to the Pearse River, divers decended 660 feet into the cave system before returning to the surface. The cave meanders as it goes deeper under the earth, and near freezing temperatures and strong currents from the river make this a difficult dive environment, even for technical divers. To overcome these obstacles, in addition to the tremendous depths, the divers constructed several “bubble habitats” at four different levels to off-gas, hydrate, and eat. Even for experienced cave diver, Craig Challen, the dive took a toll when he noticed his rapid breathing.

“I noticed going down, and I just started breathing really heavily. It’s really like a self-perpetuating thing, you know. You try and relax and chill, and you just can’t,” said Challen. ““There’s definitely a 200-meter dive there for someone that wants it,” he added with a laugh.

It is the mystery of the cave that entices these divers- undiscovered species, unknown depths, and a questionable source of the waters contribute to the lure. In fact, the team has made plans to try it again in 2012.

You can watch a video of this incredible dive on National Geographic’s website.