After one postponement of the trip due to heavy rain, 13 of us finally set off from Silvermine Gate 2 at 8am in eager anticipation of a great day of caving ahead. We made quick work of the ascent, stopping only for a chat with some fellow MCSA members and then a short snack break at Bertie’s Balcony.
Then it was time for some route-finding as we made our way down to the cave. After a bit of mild scrambling, we finally managed to locate the entrance and were greeted by a pungent aroma as we entered. The source of the smell turned out to be the body of a dead porcupine lying in one corner amongst a plethora of scattered quills. One can only speculate how it met its end.
We made our way past, and thankfully the smell didn’t penetrate deeper into the cave. We spent significant time exploring the low passages, which varied between 35cm and 50cm high, with the occasional pocket where you could crouch. We all made it to the deepest part of the cave, where we turned around and headed back to “Boetie se Kamer” — the only place in the cave where you can stand up fully — for a group photo. Keen for more exploration, Jacques tried to see whether we could complete another loop down the long passage, but the gap was only 10–15cm, so it was a no-go.
With the cave being mostly dry, we ended up mostly just sandy, but that didn’t stop us from tucking into an early lunch at Dassie’s Kasteel before heading up to the summit of Klein Tuinkop. Here we explored the cracks — whose names I do not know — and those who still hadn’t had enough crawling ventured into some of the deeper sections. The rest of us just chilled for a bit.
Next came the surprise of the trip — JohAlvin Cave (named after John and Alvin Meyer). After contorting our bodies into awkward angles, we managed to squeeze down the boulder-choked entrance and found ourselves in a large chamber teeming with life and beautiful formations. Everyone made it in, and there was much excitement to try “Josie’s Trap”. Only two brave souls gave it a go, while everyone else took the (slightly) wider passage and hung out in the chamber for a while.
The climb out was as awkward as the climb in, but we all made it without much fuss. After a second lunch, we headed back toward the Amphitheatre for a quick visit to the sculpted rock garden before making our way back to Gate 2, where we arrived at around 3pm.
Photo credits: Charl Steenkamp, Jade Jacobson, Wimpie Immelman
