Going Underground

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It was a sunny Easter Sunday & we woke up at Casara Mesa backpackers in Te Kuiti. A twenty minute drive & I was at the Waitomo Caves waiting to be picked up by the 100%!R(MISSING)eal Caving company who would be taking me underground for a day without any touristy gimmicks. I was met by Simon & we waited for the others. Two swedes, Robert & Peter turned up shortly, they were travelling on the dreaded Kiwi Experience bus a they were too young to hire a car & were staying in a Waitomo backpackers. The last two to arrive were also Swedish, Anna & Ellen who were also on the Kiwi bus but staying in Rotorua. They were going to do a half day caving but because of a shortage of guides they were doing the full day with us but at the half day cost.
We first called in at a house where the garage had changing rooms & all the gear we needed for the trip. Having suited up in multilayers of polypropylene leggings, tops, fleece & overalls we headed over to the cave. A muddy track through a cow field led to a stream which disappeared into the ground, this was Luckie Strike Cave, named after the discoverer.
A rope aided us to swing over some slippery rocks & we descended into the dark. After following the stream for a bit we entered the upper level of the cave which was relatively dry. We used our cows tails to attach to safety ropes as we edged along high ledges staring into the abyss. The cave then narrowed & we had to abseil down to the lower levels, it was a free abseil & just required feeding the rope through the figure eight until we reached the bottom. Turning off our head torches we could see the glimmer of a few glow worms, not as impressive as those at Franz Josef but this was a deep cave & didn't have many insects passing through. We continued on through the cave as the crystal formations got more spectacular. We reached the Gallery where thousands of straws & stalactites hung from the ceiling glistening with drops of water in the light from our head torches. Smooth flowstone cascaded down the walls as calcium was gradually being deposited, in some cases jutting out over stalactites creating huge gill-like formations.
We then started climbing up to the higher levels of the cave a saw a gigantic rock that had fallen from the roof of the cave. The stream had eroded its foundations & a weak layer of mud had caused the separation. Not far past here we stopped for tea & cookies after wiping our muddy hands on our fleeces. Some of the surrounding rocks were covered in oyster shells from when they once the sea floor.
It was then time to descend back into the stream, we abseiled down the rock face into waist deep water & followed the stream, ducking under rocks & scrabbling along the shingle bed. We got to large waterfall pouring from the ceiling & got thoroughly soaked walking under it, but then we were about to exit the cave the wet way. We went back under the large rock, fitting through a impossibly small hole & dropping into the water below. It was then back along the stream up several waterfalls working as a team to push & pull each other up the smooth rocks with gallons of water surging over them. One of the waterfalls poured into a pool where the water was over head deep. The trick was to put your foot in a rope loop so you could suspend yourself over the pool & then push your hands, feet & back against the two walls & gradually work your way up. Not an easy task with the force of the stream gushing over your head. One of the Swedish girls (I can't remember which one was which) fell backwards into the water & lost all her energy, we ended up tying a rope to her harness & hauling her up into the cavern. It wasn't long before we were at the surface & walking back to the minibus all anticipating hot showers.
Having been revived & driven back to Te Kuiti, Don the owner of Casara Mesa invited us over for a coffee & some easter Dairy Milk & we sat on the veranda watching the cows & horses in the paddock.

Drink of the Day: Speights Old Dark (Great With Easter Chocolate)

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Comments

[Helen and Sam]

Say no to claustrophobia!
Hi guys, Fab to hear news of your travels. It hailed yesterday in Sheffield. Boo hiss. Love H + S