Get Outdoors...

The blog has been taken over by visitors...aaarrrrgggghhhh!

Victoria and I (Jennifer) were coming back from a fun-filled weekend, having visited the indescribable Doubtful Sounds of Fiordland National Park and the intriguing glow-worms of Te Anau, when we caught sight of it: a cave. The limestone caves of the tiny town of Clifden. We had to explore it. The caving safety signs were posted everywhere:
-at least two people recommended for safety reasons (check)
-two torches/light sources per person, including spare batteries (ummm...)
-leave your trip intentions with reliable person (we are reliable...)
-helmets recommended (our noggins are pretty hard...)
-ropes and climbing equipment required (I'm pretty sure that is also just another recommendation...)

It was one o'clock in the afternoon. There was plenty of sunlight. We took the recommendations into consideration. One out of five isn't bad. So we went in. For about five steps. It got really dark, and we (I) made us turn around.

We rummaged through the car. No light sources to be found. We wandered around town, and finally found a grocery store that sold flashlights. We bought one (because we are cheap), for the two of us. Upon hearing of our intentions, the cashier warned us: "I wouldn't go in the caves today, girls. It's been raining pretty hard, and the caves are prone to flash flooding." Flash flooding...like at Universal Studios? Now we really had to go back. Besides, as Amy always says, "What could go wrong?"

It was two o'clock. We returned to the caves. With our new light source, we were able to wander about 15 steps into the darkness. We hit a dead end. Is the arrow pointing toward that tiny hole in the ground? I thought about how I would explain to my parents how I lost my little sister in a cave in New Zealand. Then I made us turn around again. We would go home, and maybe invite Amy and Kimball to come with us another day, with all the recommended equipment.

I (Victoria) was double sad sad. = ( We're turning around AGAIN??? What the? As we left the caves for the second time, I thought out loud, "Well, wouldn't it be nice if we came upon some other people who were well equiped for caving of course, and tagged along?"

Imagine our surprise and delight when we came out into the sunlight to find another car parked right behind ours, and three local Kiwis climbing out.

"Are you going into the caves?" "Yes."

"Do you have light?"

"Well, Tom has a head light. We have two glowsticks." (Glowsticks, like from Disneyland?)

"Have you been through the caves before?"

"Tom has. It only takes about 1/2 hour." (The DOC -dept of conservation- says 1 1/2 to 2 hours.)
Then, the magic words: "Do you want to join us?" "YES!!!"

Two lightsources, and two glowsticks, for five people.

It was two thirty in the afternoon as we entered the cave, for the third time. Tom led. Ross and Louise followed. Victoria was next, and I followed with our flashlight. Mostly I remember the silly sight of the purple and orange glowsticks waving uselessly in front of me, and the consuming darkness behind. I tried not to think about the scary movies I'd seen in the past.
We reach the same dead end. It turns out we are supposed to squeeze through that hole in the ground. Tom starts, feet first. He then turns around to announce: "We have to go in head first." We all look at each other in disbelief. We are not totally convinced we can fit when Ross volunteers to go first. After he disappears into the hole, we hear, "Ahh, what's this big hole down here? I can't see!"

"Is this really a good idea?" I ask.

Tom replies, "Oh yeah, fat people go through this all the time. If I can do it, you all can."
Tom is tall, like Ross, but more ah...well developed and nourished. After witnessing Tom successfully squeeze through the hole, Louise, Victoria and I follow (feet first for the girls...silly boys).

Inside, we saw amazing limestone rock formations, glow-worms, graffiti. We manuevered around wading pools and climbed ladders into various levels of the cave. It was an unforgettable experience.