23 OCTOBER 2006

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Long Gu Dong Revisited

Kutya and Marci continued the attack upriver despite the higher water level that resulted from the previous night's rain. The traversing along the walls wasn’t easy as they had to climb more than 15 metres at a time horizontally carrying a heavy Hilti drill and rope bag over often smooth surfaces. At the end of the day the canyon seemed like an SRT racecourse with 200 m rope strung along it. When the rope ran out Marci had reached two Belgian bolts on a ledge above a particularly furious section of the river. It looked like it was necessary to make a crossing at this point. Kutya grabbed a big freshwater crab from a pool.


Ged paddles dinghy in Long Gu Dong sump pool

Ged and Dave boated across the lake at the bottom of the entrance pitch and picked up the fossil passage on the other side. The Belgian map was a little difficult to follow as it shows very little detail and the passage elevations are not clear. Perhaps this was the connection we were looking for back to the main showcave fossil passage. If so, it doesn't tie in with the map.

Skylight Cave Explored further

Bruce, Emerson and Graham investigated Ox Nose Cave en route to Skylight Cave (higher on the hill behind the showcave entrance). They wondered what the passage was like within and whether the far reaches shown on the survey could be easily reached. They descended the steps as a few tourists came out. Heading straight into the watery passage, a distinct smell of sewage was initially present which combined with the mess of sticks and rubbish was very uninviting. The water beyond was cleaner and soon turned into a swim. Bruce swam ahead with the others following behind using his Daren Drum container in his bag for buoyancy. A junction was reached in the strangely tranquil pool and the sound of cascading water could be heard ahead. Once Graham had caught up, Bruce volunteered to investigate where the noise was coming from. However as he swam out beyond the headland he was caught by the strong but silent mainstream flow and struggled to return to safety. The dim light from the main river entrance was now visible in the distance. Emerson called back to us that he had found an old rope hanging down from a short climb out of the water. This was duly climbed to find further passage to another pool and a dry lead that passed a slot back down towards rive level. A belgian bolt was found here. Beyond, a tricky traverse above a large drop was presumably the way on. With no equipment and other tasks to do in Skylight Cave we wisely backed off. Some fishermen at the entrance chuckled as we departed the sewer system!

We walked up to Skylight Cave and bottomed the pitch, this time equipped with a dinghy. Several hundred metres of passage were surveyed down the right hand lead which initially headed NE but then doubled back on itself. The other direction towards the end of Oxnose Cave was left for another day.


Fisherman in Ox Nose Cave


Graham and Emerson in Skylight stream passage......Some typical floating rubbish

Pa Pa Dong

A dry, but overcast day with a threat of rain. Harvey, Tony P and Eddie headed back to the previous days cave, Pa Pa Dong. Once again they found the ride through the countryside bumpy and uncomfortable. Eventually they arrived and walked through the chequered layout of fields, pathways and cultivated plots nestled amidst the rock stewn landscape. They ascended the flagsteps and then passed through the farmyard that yesterday they had visited with such a cordial welcome. Again a group of children following them into the cave.

Comencing the survey, they ascended a slope but this soon ended. They then returned back for lunch at the junction. A little girl had become obviously distressed at being in the cave and become so tearful that she needed comforting by the others. However, a tall slim girl with a disformed hand was not as lucky, she was sat beside Harvey with her head in her hands whilst the others departed with Tony. Harvey finished his sightings at the survey station and helped the girl who had no light out of the cave. In a very roomy passage of 14m height and 20m across the team surveyed down the slope and into a final crawl which Tony had previously explored to a conclusion. They returned to the surface where their driver was waiting for them at the farmhouse.

Wu Ya Cave

Arthur, Tony H, Em, John, Niu, Arthur and Yan Qian went to Wu Ya Dong (Pepper Cave) near Tuanbao. They were met by the same villagers from their previous visit who are from the Tu Jia ethnic minority that accounts for about 20% of Lichuan county's population. Two branches were surveyed. A short passage to the left and a 200m long passage to the right that they had been told was 1.5km long!

Further up the track was a hole with a rift leading off to the head of a pitch. Tony rigged this but the cave was closed at the bottom. A short side passage on the way out was surveyed but soon went too tight to follow.