Reader\'s Digest Australia & New Zealand - June 2018

June• 2018 | 121

READER’S DIGEST

them:therockwall,ajaggedoutcrop-

ping,apileofrocks,apoolofmud.

And always, always, the water, which

attimestheymustwadethrough.

For the next 90 minutes they are

explorers, crawling and striding and

sliding through pipe-like passages

andchambersthatarelikethenave

ofachurch,bigbutnotoverwhelm-

ing. They manoeuvre their bodies

throughthetight,wetpassagethat

leads to the Bastard’s Crawl, another

small passage studded with rocks,

with a slightly sharper incline.

Sometimes,thereisjustatrickleof

water in this passage. Today, there is

more, and it is lowing quickly.

“Crabwalk!”Andrewcalls.

heydo,goingsingleileandfeet

first, their bodies shifting slightly

from side to side as they make their

way, keeping their heads up so that

their headlamps illuminate each

step.

AT THE TOPofthewaterfall,Double

Trouble, they set up ropes and har-

nesses to rappel down.

“Caref ul!” t hey call to each ot her.

Bootsfindpurchaseonslip-

pery ledges. Gloved hands claw for

leverage.

passage studded with jagged boul-
ders,takingturnstocarrythebags
ofequipment.Atirst,thesilenceis
broken only by heav y breathing. But
astheymovefurtherin,thereisa
constant drip-drip-drip from above,
like coins being dropped on the rock.
Soon,thedripturnsintoalightbut
steadylow,andtheyarewading,up
to their shins.
It would be nice to have a half wet-
suit like Andrew does,Jason thinks.
Maybe next time.
“EveryoneOK?”Andrewcalls.
“Yeah,” comes the reply.
“Yup.”

“Me, too.”
About45minutesin,Adaman-
nounceshecan’tgoanyfurther;his
back, injured a few months earlier, is
twingingandhedoesn’twanttoslow
down the others. Matt escorts him
backtotheentrancetolethimout,
then closes and locks the metal door
again. he others wait.

THEIR CHALLENGEis to reach the
endofthecave.Onapreviousvisit,
theydidn’tmakeit,forcedtoturn
backbecauseofthelatehour.Now,
they have plenty of time to take it
slow and notice everything around

heirchallengeistoreachtheendofthecave;to

takeitslowlyandnoticeeverythingaroundthem