Australian Geographic - 09.2019 - 10.2019

September. October 45

In the following years, many of Australia’s toughest cavers

spent countless days looking for the stream inlet in Niggly, with

no luck. But during an expedition last December, a group of us

managed to negotiate our way through a rock-choked section

i n a n unex plored pa r t of Nigg ly that we na med Ni nja St rea mway.

It opened up into a spectacular large passage we called Atlantis.

Exploring on from there, we discovered the Pool of Promise,

where I’d started our breakthrough dive. We suspected the sub-

merged tunnels in this sump might eventually connect with the

Dreamtime Sump tunnel I’d explored in 2015.

A

DIVE LIKE THIS is a huge team effort. The push diver has

an important role, but the dive is impossible without

others helping. Niggly Cave is a complex 3D maze, with

all sorts of difficult obstacles. And both the air and water tem-

perature are only 7ºC. Cavers must be fit and experienced to

make it down, and able to carry a load of up to 20kg.

Our team was Alan Jackson, Gabriel Kinzler, Stefan Eberhard,

Serena Benjamin, Fraser Johnston, Petr Smejkal,

Patrick Eberhard, Chris Sharples, Rolan Eberhard and me. The

expedition required extensive planning and preparation. In the

lead-up, I completed a full dress rehearsal at Mornington Pier,

my favourite dive site in Melbourne, and tried to emulate

everything I could about the upcoming dive: I wore all my gear,

laid guidelines and stayed under water for two hours – about as

long as I expected the Niggly dive to take.

We’d planned to spend four days underground, camped at a

depth of 350m. The first day would be spent descending into

the cave and making our way to the Pool of Promise, where I’d

attempt the connection dive. Days 2 and 3 would be spent explor-

ing new dry passageways, and searching for a way past the cham-

ber I’d discovered and named Business Class Lounge during a

previous trip. I’d reached it via a submerged tunnel, and because

it wa s on ly accessible by d iv ing it rem a ined la rgely unex plored.

Niggly Cave is a complex

3D maze, with all sorts

of difficult obstacles.

Niggly Cave entrance

Tigertooth Passage Scary Rift

85m drop

105m drop

Black

Supergiant

Pitch

184m free hang

Mount Niggly

Camp

Connection Point

Waterfall and

Flying Fox

To Mother of God passage

Pool of Promise (2019 dive) Ninja Streamway

Gotcha section Gallantry Sump

Game of Thrones Section

Atlantis

Mount Atlantis

To Tiger Mountain and Frownland

Despite the mud, camp was a

welcome place to rest and recover.

PHOTO CREDIT: STEFAN EBERHARD