“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine!”

CAVING, NSW – 25 August 2026
For the past few years, I’ve been part of a group of experienced cavers (in no way am I that experienced) who advise on a specific cave area.  After our last meeting, we were sitting around deciding what cave we should visit to check out things (like the gate) and see if it was showing any wear and tear.  The one they picked sounded like there was a squeeze, and as no one had been in the cave for a while, we weren’t sure that it was navigable.

None of us were sure that we’d fit through the squeeze!  I had doubts about whether or not I’d fit – I sure didn’t want to get “stuck” that would be embarrassing!

It had rained all night and was still raining in the morning, so we waited until the rain eased and then set off – did I really want to crawl into the cave through mud and water? And maybe get stuck?  By now, I’m almost talking myself out of the trip LOL.

So, how “special” is this cave?  Apparently, it has some nice decoration in it, but it’s known to be quite muddy, so it’s been classified as a “reference” cave.  As a reference cave, it’s been determined that each year, only 1 group (of 4) may be permitted to enter. And, the permit to enter the cave will only be given to a group (such as scientists) who have a good reason to enter the cave – like checking out if a specific animal may (or may not) live in the cave.  So, recreational cavers wouldn’t be eligible to be given a permit.

Why were we entering the cave?  Well, because of the mud that would be walked through to get to the main chamber (thereby damaging some of the floor), it was determined that a “clean zone” was needed and the best spot to put the clean zone needed to be identified.  Once a clean zone was identified, cavers would have to stop at the “clean zone” and change out of their muddy shoes etc. and change into “clean” shoes, clean overalls and clean gloves.   Also, we needed to determine if there were any areas in the decorated area that needed to be “closed off” (like “don’t go down here you’ll track mud into the decorated area”).  So, we had a good reason to enter the cave!

We arrived at the cave, there were two “slots” to get to the locked gate that we needed to go through. Even these slots were “tight”. John entered first and he didn’t think he could get past the locked gate. So, Jason gave it a go.

Jason was more successful, so John then followed him in.  Next was Rob, and he couldn’t get past the squeeze, so he backed out.  Paul decided that if Rob couldn’t get through then he didn’t have a chance.  So then it was me, Rob assured me that I “wouldn’t get stuck – don’t worry, you’ll be fine” – I’m thinking “famous last words!”.  It actually wasn’t that bad, it was sort of tight but I didn’t have to struggle and then I was in … WOW!

Then there was another tight “crawl” and then we were in a chamber that we could stand up in. So, off we went, and yes it was very muddy!

Apparently, Jason and John said that there was evidence that a wombat had been able to enter the cave going under the gate (I didn’t see this). When we walked up the muddy passageway (mud on the floor and up the walls), there was evidence that the wombat had entered the passageway (remember said wombat wouldn’t have a light LOL), and then probably tried to find his way out – trying to climb up the walls – what you can see here is evidence of his clawing in the mud trying to climb the wall – and these claw marks were all the way up the muddy slope that we had to climb up. By now I’m wondering if we’re going to find a dead wombat somewhere!

The passageway was about 1m wide and sloped upwards (at between a 45 and 60º angle) for about 20m – very, very muddy.  We came to series of pools (with lots of water streaming down into the pool – curtesy  of the 40mm of rain we’d had the night before.  By this time we’re covered in mud so we decided that the first pool we came across was a good spot to make the “Clean Zone” and John put down some thick plastic mats that we could step upon once we took off our shoes and overalls.  Then we could make our way further up the cascade – the walls still had mud on them so we had to be careful not to touch the walls – or, use our muddy gloves and then change into clean gloves when we got to the top.  The cascade was around 10 – 15m long.

We then came to the chamber (Jason coming through the entrance to the chamber).

Jason at the chamber, with a 1m stal that we had to make our way past without putting mud on it. From where Jason is standing, there was some flowstone that we had to walk on, avoiding other muddy spots in the chamber.

The formations in the chamber were stunning.

There are areas that look like there isn’t mud on them, but if you look hard it’s there. I ended up standing in one spot that didn’t have mud (every time I stepped somewhere I was in danger of getting mud on my boots) so, I just to stay put LOL.

An area with stalls and long straws. I like this stal coming from the top and joining up with one at the bottom, and the stripes coming down, possibly mud in the water that’s coming down onto the bottom stal.

More nice formations.

And more. There is water flowing down all the formations as a result of the rain that we’ve had.

Looking up to the higher chamber.

Over to the right of the other formations is this flow stone waterfall.

Jason climbed the waterfall, it was very sketchy and I saw no reason for me to climb up (as did John), Jason went up to take photos. I suggested that maybe this section should be “fenced off” (tape across it with a don’t climb this or something like that), but John felt that it was robust enough that it could be climbed without damage to it.

Jason at the top.

And Jason at the top of a photo I took earlier.

There is another passage going down from the main Chamber, but as there was mud down there, I saw no reason to go down there. John and Jason decided to “tape this off” to make it a “no go zone”.

Nice formation near that chamber that goes down.

We spent a couple of hours documenting the cave with photos (really good ones by John) and then John and Jason put up tape for the No Go Zones and some signs as to where the Clean Zone would start.  And then it was time to return to the Clean Zone area and put on our caving shoes and overalls and exit the cave.  I was a bit concerned about exiting out through the squeeze, but it was ok, although I did get really wet going through the water that had accumulated at the entrance.

By now I’m freezing cold, so didn’t stick around for the postmortem of the trip that I’m sure Jason, John and Rob had. After a really hot shower and the luxury of getting into warm clothes, I had the time to reflect on the visit to the cave.  It was pretty amazing, I’m really happy that it’s a reference cave, with all the mud that’s in it, I can see that it would be quickly destroyed if it was open to recreational cavers.  The cascade to get into the main chamber, would soon fill up with mud, not to mention the pools up in the chamber.  There are more than enough caves around with good formations in them, this one doesn’t have to be visited unless it’s for a really good reason.

Thanks to those concerned for taking me along with them for the work that they needed to do. Not only do I feel really lucky to have seen the cave, but it’s always a good idea to challenge myself with a crawl and squeeze!