Some adventures defy my ability to do justice in a meet report. Nevertheless, a few of us lucky adventurers found ourselves with the opportunity to share the deep, dark and delightful secrets of the Robin Hood Cavern system, near Kalk Bay.
The cavern is unsurprisingly a fairly well hidden secret, not least because the entrance to the main system of passages and chambers is somewhat of a shock to the system, even for those who have some caving experience.
To temper the shock, a warmup visit to the charming Oread Halls cave helps to ease the cavers into the swing of things. With the skylight chamber, the silver, golden and copper twinkling stars on the passage rooves (micro droplets of water which twinkle in torch light), and the main chamber complete with mezzanine crawl-through, this cave is almost too endearing for what lies ahead.
The vertical cracks and tight squeezes on the way down into Robin Hood Cavern typically has first-timers questioning their life choices, and wondering what exactly it is that they’ve signed up for. However, once through the initial birth canal, things gradually begin to unfold, and it becomes clear what the point is.
Thank you to Jean-Paul van Belle for making this magical adventure possible.
