The Black Abyss!

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Firstly - congratulations to sis for getting offer excepted on the house - fingers x it all goes smoothly!
Thanks also to Laura for being concerned for my safety but am still here to tell the tale!
And to Bigbro - Adrenaline - the best is yet to come - The black Abyss!

Well we cruised on down to Waitomo in very heavy rain, and arrived at Blackwater cafe where theres a number of optional tours - we ofcourse went for the most exhilarating wahey!

This starts with a 35 metre abseil down an hour glass shaped pothole which seemed to last forever - previous lesson in abseiling was also included b4 this!
On reaching the bottom we ended up in a massive cave which we proceeded to follow down a small passage way.
Then you got randomly attached to a piece of rope with a harness and told to jump into the darkness......................shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
i think my words were - the harness was attached to an aerial runway which with no light got faster and faster with no idea where you were going to end up - all you could see were thousands of tiny glowworms like consellations above! Wow
Eventually it came to a jolting stop and you could turn your lights back on again- we then proceeded down smaller and narrrower and smaller and narrower passages with a now river gushing under you. Presuming the guide knows what hes doing we continued - it then opens out to another huge chasm which ends in a large cliff - then nothingness and lots of it!
Its l;ike youve reached the end of the universe - ok slight exagerration - the path.
after dangling your legs over the edge of this nothingness contemplating whats down there and what its diet is i was given an inflatable rubber ring and asked to be the first to hurl myself of and find out!
Still presuming the guide knew what he was doing i proceeded to do so.
I found out - air then more air and then eventually icey cold freezing bum numbing water!
You submerge for a good few seconds ontil you pop back up on the surface (dont swallow the water - i did and it aint nice!)
Rob followed until everyone was in !
Then a large rope appears on the side of the river which you hang onto (no rapids yet) and pulll yourself alon the side of the river. We then laid back on our rings! while the flow of the water took us down stream and looked up - thousands of gloworms and youve no idea where your going- your torch light highlights creatures like cave wetters, cave spiders and the occassional green frog - you can also see up forever with stalagtites allover. We then got rid of our inflatables and bagan to swim - first forwards into rapids and slides and then backward - on your back with your feeet forwards fending of rocks - etc - that was prob the most surreal feeling ever - floating past people with your feet sticking above the water and letting the rapids just take you (if anyone knows how my dad swims - well youll appreciate this!).
We then got to the end of the swim/float/cruise and now for more active squeezing through tiny spaces- There is an example of this in the waitomo museum - for those of you who know and you know who you are- think x10 as long - with water - not a time to be claustrophobic!
we arrived at a huge water fall which with the aid of the guides we managed to climb right to the top and then 2 othere waterfalls and we were free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
The whole experience took 5 hours - which included abseiling lesson - Awesome experience - totally different to anything i can think of - well worth it if your up for a bit of a squeeze and a few large jumps into water and the aerial runway!Oh and the abseil ...........

Well we have arrived in Auckland and am ready for a long nap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take care all
Dave

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Photos

The crew
feel like we're constantly in wet suits!

Comments

[ray]

james bond / supper man
hey bro whats all this action man stuff at this rate your gonna give james bond a hard time and he dont drink guiness have fun ray x

[Nigel]

It's official! You are completely insane.

[Gem]

eww
I'm so glad I never got talked into that one. Great description, but's thats as close as I would get to doing that experience. Anybody get stuck in the rubber ring? Another basejump now is it?

[PHYSIO DAVE]

Replies to comments
Bigbro- soundtrack is being released but has an 80 certificate - not fit for the ears of the younger Ray- Paddy bond - not much guinness out here but the odd irish bar!ps have james bond to soundtrack of ski-dive -cheeeesy! Nigel - Hang on im not the one who volunteers to go into a boiling flame ridden building filled with smoke and toxins! Gem - what do you mean youd love it! - id hold your hand ahhhhhhhhhhh No one stuck in the rings but ill never look at a donut the same way!

[Grey haired parent]

Cave Wetters
You didnt say what these were, but from the team photo there were probably about 8 of them. (Plus several more over hear after reading about the epic. We trust that you will not trust everyone you meet. We are deliberately taking the caravan away to where we cant access the blogs. Hope your not just going to repeat everything in Aussie. Would like to see you again.

[Original Superman]

Rays comment
I note that Ray headed his comment Supperman. Obviously a late night comment. Perhaps the next comment will be about Souperman, being the first course. What will you call the main course and the pudding.