Caving in South Africa - Bat-tastic

Another day and another choice to rest or adventure.  Thankfully, through the power of the internet, a caving adventure took form.  After no less than 23 e-mails, the folks at Wild Cave Adventures designed a solo traveler adventure for me to join.  This is a worthwhile investment if you really can't muster up a proper group.  Fortunately, one of the gentlemen from our local security group took an interest and decided to suit up and join.  Not being a caver and not knowing if I was a weird American (because 5 days isn't enough to tell), I am proud of him for taking a risk of blowing his down day.  I don't believe there was a stitch of disappointment.

We started with a 45 minute drive to the Cradle of Humankind.  This is what they call it.  There is something to do with finding the missing links, but really, I'm into bats and holes in the ground.  Dawie, pronounced Davie was our first guide.  We suited up in old school coveralls, hard hats, gloves, harness and light with belt mounted battery to do our first descent into Bat Cave.  On a side note, as the day went on, I was intrigued by the seemingly advanced nature of the gear we use for caving in the states.  Knee pads, gloves, helmets with chinstraps and LED headlamps are just par for the course in the US.  No worries however!  This cave is interesting in that it was mined in the 1800s.  They were pulling out Lime, packing it in wagons and using Ox carts to move it to Johannesburg.  In the course of this endeavor, there was a lot of damage done.  The hole we used to rappel into the cave was blasted by the miners and had clearly impacted the humidity levels of the cave in a very detrimental way.

You must become the bat to be with the bats (brown coveralls, the crouch...I was trying to blend)

Old Mining Tracks

Rim Stone Forming

A Precarious Squeeze for the Gentleman

Cave Pearls

Davie - Guide Extraordinaire

We saw a few wonderful bats, clambered in between some rocks and generally had a good time.  A marked different was the dryness of the caves.  In the US, caves are associated with mud and healthy ecosystems.  These caves were filled with a fine powder that showed the impact of the serious drought that is currently ongoing.  

As we reached the surface again, we retreated to Bush Whackers for beer, pizza and a moment of rest.  The light breeze and 70 degree day were nothing but positive.  Johan, the unexpected companion, proved a pleasant conversationalist.  Neil arrived to sweep us out of the comfort of a mellow Saturday afternoon and into another set of overalls.  We hopped in his "bucky" - the South African version of a small pickup truck - and wound around to a dead end at a farm.  Surrounded by corn stalks that desperately needed rain and rolling fields of grass, it was hard not to feel somewhat at home.  Along the way, we passed a herd of some mysterious African deer type animal and a round house with a curious story.  The man purchased the home over 2 years ago and it was inhabited by owls.  He hasn't finished it and moved in on account of accomodating them.  Apparently he has completed the upper floor and they still have run of the lower.  It's a serious commitment to conservation to say the least.  

We suited up again, this time with a little more technology (tiny headlamps attached to helmets) and headed down the road to Swartkrantz Cave.  From the first look at the entrance, we knew we found an evolved challenge.  We crawled very much down and in and Neil began setting up haul systems.  The cave was marked with cow bones where floods had washed them down.  There was a group of about 30 tiny horseshoe bats hanging over our rigging.  They didn't seem very bothered by the whole affair and kept a quiet watch.  Over the beginning of the dolomite / granite fault line crack that we would eventually crawl down (and back up) you could smell the bats, but more importantly, you could hear the squeaking and carrying on that only bats can make.  After being lowered over the edge, you were suddenly in a level of bat chaos that I had never experienced.  Thousands of bats huddled and bucked for space while other flew here and there and everywhere.  There is nothing I can do to explain the excitement of feeling the breeze on your face and hearing the massive communication that seemed continuous.

I think they were holding hands.  Being a bat can be scary.

Johan Starts his Descent

Cow and Goat Bones

Our Rigging Supervisors

Somewhat begrudgingly, we began the remainder of our descent into the cave.  A very cautious crawl down was the success factor in a 65 meter decent.  In total, we ended up around 250 feet underground.  This was a vertical experience.  We enjoyed near constant company with the occasional bat traveling our way. The formations left over from a water filled cave were a great attempt at grasping the history that can be read from rocks.  Residual wave patterns and reminders of plants that fought through silt to grow are frozen in rock for eternity.  Strange patterns and whorls on the rocks hearken to aliens or some civilization, but we were assured it was only drying dolomite leaving its signature.

Not aliens, just a natural process that creates great designs.  Unless you believe in aliens of course.

Johan and I were given lease to squeeze through a few tunnels and see what we could see.  Like two kids without a care, we climbed over, under, through and around.  It's nice when the amount of dirt caked on your hands, coveralls and to some extent your nose and teeth is not even at the forefront of your mind.  It's a moment of living fully involved in the moment.  No technology, no obligations, just freedom to be curious.  We squeezed back to Neil and headed to our vertical climb.  That's the trouble with an epic descent, epic ascent.

Johan fearlessly fit in spaces that were tight for me.  Way to go 6' 4" South African!

There was some grunting, some great photo ops and a bit more of a heart rate climb given that you understood the consequence of a fall.  Upon entry, it wasn't altogether clear. Now we knew that the first bump after the helmet rocketed off would be followed by a concussion and likely a terrible body recovery mission.  Somehow, this was in no way a deterrent to enthusiasm and may have actually increased the appeal.  Up and back to the mass of bats, one made company with my hand long enough to illicit a cursing announcement to the cave that I'd been properly startled.  Bat 1 - Lindi 0.  

Arriving back in the main roost, the bat chaos had increased.  As a camera was held out they weaved between arms and chest, flited by ears and generally had no qualms about whizzing between Johan and I.  I was absolutely in awe of the grand chaos we found ourselves in.  A brush on the cheek from bat wings stirred me to silence.  I wouldn't say it was spiritual, but it was hedging on it.  The constant breeze from wings and the noise that blurred to normal were such a peaceful atmosphere in the midst of what had initially felt like chaos.  

The Final Ascent

Johan nearly to the top.

We ascended somewhat reluctantly towards the start.  Thank goodness for great top rope support and a bit of mechanical advantage.  Between the repeated adrenaline dumps, climbing and awe of nature, I was certainly happy but sapped of gas.  It is rare that I have a day unlike anything I have before.  Today was one of those days.  

Walking back to the car, I was thinking not of black mambas, work or other cares, but bats.  The load of bats that were preparing to go on the hunt for bugs before settling back down into their super serious cuddling chaos.  Being Africa, it is only natural that the guide would have neighbors that own lions.  Whenever someone asks if you want to go see lions and tigers, the answer is yes.  Don't hesitate.  Something will kill you someday, seize the adventure.  

You would think lions, tigers and such would require something more than an 8' fence topped with electric wire.  We were able to put the back of our hands on hog panels and get a solid sniff and tiger mucus on the back of our hands. My primeval brain panicked at the contact.  Almost like I had the idea that the contact might change me in a way that I wasn't prepared for.  Feeling a tiger's breath, looking into a jaguar's eyes and feeling the intense gaze of a Siberian tiger were intense psychological experiences in themselves.  We feel like masters of the earth, but really, these predators were meant to rule.  The muscular power, grace and agility were enough to strike fear into the rational being.  Their amber eyes also held much more depth and calculation that I would have imagined.

Body Language Interpretation: Scared and Prepared to Run Away

Tiny Tiger Ready for the Hunt

Body Language Interpretation: Ain't Skeerd of Anything!

The day was exceptional.  These are not experiences that come along often.  The common search for a feeling of freedom was accomplished and we played.  More than played, we stepped out of our world and into one that we are only meant to visit for a little while.  Johan, Neil and Dawie made for perfect traveling companions, guides and entertainment.  I'm incredibly thankful to finally feel a bit of what I always imagined I'd feel for Africa.  

Johan looks happy right?  What a trooper.