Caving Margaret River 2010
A weekend of caving in Margaret River is always great fun. This time Marty & Kat came to pick me up on Friday night. We pitched our tents in the dark and joined the others in the hut for some drinks and coathanger challenges…
It was not easy, but I now know I can fit through a metal coat hanger sideways (head and one leg through first!). Don’t try this at home kids… 🙂
Kat worming her way through a thin metal coathanger
Marty trying to get through the same coathanger
Jude about to strangle herself with a coathanger, but managing to get through in the end
The next morning the 3 of us joined the group that went to Brides cave first for some abseiling, climbing out again using the rope ladder and jumaring up the long way – great fun. We then went to Mills and Dingo, first time for me in Mills, interesting way in as well using the rope ladder to get down through a large chimney. Dingo was great fun, following Kat and Marty around until they finally figured out we were going around in circles. A quick look at the little x-mas tree and admiring the beautiful other formations in that deeper section of the cave.
Jude about to abseil into Bridal Cave
Jude heading into Bridal Cave
Marty heading down into Bridal Cave
Kat abseiling into Bridal Cave
Jude getting set up to start the jumar out of Bridal Cave
Jude starting to ascend on the rope
Jude going up
Jude nearly at the top
Jude heading down into Dingo Cave
Jued in Dingo Cave
Marty hanging on for dear life
Kat coming through a tiny hole in the rocks
pretty decorations in the cave
some decorations are translucent
Jude coming out of a tiny hole in Dingo Cave
Marty climbing back out of Dingo Cave
back outside in the sunlight we are in the beautiful Boranup Forest in the Margaret River area
That night we had a pasta, washed down with some very yummie ginger beers followed by some red wine – or was that the other way around? Emily and Tim made us all laugh with Tim’s joke winning him the medal of the weekend.
dinner at night in the caving hut
Next day was a wet cave for Kat and me (Ruddicks). Marty went on to explore other caves. Kat and I added yet another photo to our calendar after the one from Dingo on Saturday didn’t work out very well – Kat’s shirt was a bit too reflective…
hiking into the next cave, a muddy one this time
Jude and Kat at the entrance of the cave
Jude and Kat squeezing through a narrow opening
Jude on her belly in the mud
Jude looking into a cave higher up with beautiful decorations
Jude squeezing through the keyhole through the mud
and back outside again
the whole group of cavers that weekend
Wet, muddy and very happy we drove back to the hut, chased away by the aggressive bees at the entry to the cave, for some lunch. Once Marty was back from his caves we decided to head for the wineries on our way back to Perth. We stopped at the Watershed (can’t recommend any of their wines – nor their food, but that’s a different story) and then found a new Maze just south of Margaret River. We ran around the maze, solved some puzzles and I discovered that the hoolahoop is rather hard when you’re not 7 anymore!
Kat, Jude and Marty at the entrance of the Maze in Margaret River
A stop at Havana Koffeeworks for some caffeine, the Old Cow (?) in Cowaramup for some lollies and then nuts and the chocolate factory to finish it off. I had to take my chocolate cake home as I had overdosed on chocolate by the time I had 3 bites from the massive cake! Jon was very happy with that.