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On day seven we
applied our newly honed abseiling skills
in a different manner. Rather than dropping to the ground from a
height, we
instead dropped from the ground into an underground cave through a huge
sinkhole
that opened on the surface. Once we descended, there was a small
cave complex that could be explored via a plank walkway. The opening of
the cave is shown at the bottom of the picture to the left. Returning
to the surface was a bit more of a challenge that just walking up a
path, as we did at the Willyabrup caves. Instead, one has to climb up a
hanging wire ladder, a much more physically demanding task. The photo
to the left show us tackling the ascent.
The Adventure Out crew added a new twist to abseiling,
the "trust fall." Victims would begin their descent to the floor of the
sinkhole, but would stop as soon as they cleared the rim of the hole.
They would then dangle above in the air, and remove their hands from
the rope; they are held in place by the braking pressure applied by the
instructor at the bottom. Once an abseiler signaled their readiness,
the instructor would release the brake, and the abseiler would "free
fall" to within about two meters of the floor of the cave. While the
video of this is long lost, the YouTube offering from Friends of
Adventure shows a low-resolution view of the area. However, they are
enjoying a much more leisurely ascent than the one we experienced at
the hands of A Adventure Out!
The inside was awesome! I even
went through the birth canal! It was extremely tight and I kept getting
dirt in my mouth! But I loved
it, the most fun I have had so far.
Next it was time to do some spelunking. Upon arrival, we divided into two groups. While one group
remained at the sinkhole the second group traveled to a much larger
underground cave complex, the nearby Ngili cave. This was a huge
subterranean chamber, and it was an opportunity to go spelunking, or
cave exploring. Following a
tour of the more open sections of the cave via a walkway, we then set
off with our guide, Di, to explore some of the small chambers or
"adventure caves". Donning our headlamps, she led us through a pitch
black maze of twists and turns, pausing at times to teach us about the
ecosystem of the cave. The picture to the top right shows one group
pausing to inspect some phosphorescent stones, while in the photo to
the right, Di explains
a bit more about this. The spelunking route took us to the most
challenging part of the cave, the birth canal. This is a small passage,
about as wide as a person, which drops
vertically about 3 meters. At the bottom of the drop there is just
enough
room to twist your body around and exit into a similar size tunnel that
proceeds
horizontally into a small chamber. In the photo at the left Mr. Smith
confirms
that he has very little understanding of spatial dimensions, as he
ascends
into the birth canal. Fortunately (in the sense that we did not have to
rescue him), he also made it back out.
Abseiling and Cave ExplorationOn day seven we applied our newly honed abseiling skills in a different manner. Rather than dropping to the ground from a height, we instead dropped from the ground into an underground cave through a huge sinkhole that opened on the surface. Once we descended, there was a small cave complex that could be explored via a plank walkway. The opening of the cave is shown at the bottom of the picture to the left. Returning to the surface was a bit more of a challenge that just walking up a path, as we did at the Willyabrup caves. Instead, one has to climb up a hanging wire ladder, a much more physically demanding task. The photo to the left show us tackling the ascent.
The Adventure Out crew added a new twist to abseiling, the "trust fall." Victims would begin their descent to the floor of the sinkhole, but would stop as soon as they cleared the rim of the hole. They would then dangle above in the air, and remove their hands from the rope; they are held in place by the braking pressure applied by the instructor at the bottom. Once an abseiler signaled their readiness, the instructor would release the brake, and the abseiler would "free fall" to within about two meters of the floor of the cave. While the video of this is long lost, the YouTube offering from Friends of Adventure shows a low-resolution view of the area. However, they are enjoying a much more leisurely ascent than the one we experienced at the hands of A Adventure Out!
Next it was time to do some spelunking. Upon arrival, we divided into two groups. While one group remained at the sinkhole the second group traveled to a much larger underground cave complex, the nearby Ngili cave. This was a huge subterranean chamber, and it was an opportunity to go spelunking, or cave exploring. Following a tour of the more open sections of the cave via a walkway, we then set off with our guide, Di, to explore some of the small chambers or "adventure caves". Donning our headlamps, she led us through a pitch black maze of twists and turns, pausing at times to teach us about the ecosystem of the cave. The picture to the top right shows one group pausing to inspect some phosphorescent stones, while in the photo to the right,
Di explains a bit more about this. The spelunking route took us to the most challenging part of the cave, the birth canal. This is a small passage, about as wide as a person, which drops vertically about 3 meters. At the bottom of the drop there is just enough room to twist your body around and exit into a similar size tunnel that proceeds horizontally into a small chamber. In the photo at the left Mr. Smith confirms that he has very little understanding of spatial dimensions, as he ascends into the birth canal. Fortunately (in the sense that we did not have to rescue him), he also made it back out.
