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

122 | June• 2018

TRAPPED UNDERGROUND

back.Noonewantstosliponarock

that cannot be seen, maybe turn an

ankle, injure a knee or sprain a wrist.

Asitnears2.15pm,thecaversap-

proachthebottomofDoubleTrou-

ble. Now, the sound of the water has

turnedintoaroar,andatthebottom,

it churns in an angry white froth.

It has been raining prett y stead-

ilyfortwodaysandcavesactasthe

earth’sdrainpipes.Butnoonewas

nervousatthestart.Theyarepre-

pared. hey have a stove. hey have

food,water,thethermalblanketand

first-aid supplies. For cavers, the

watchwords are to expect the unex-

pected, and the trip was not going to

be long.

his is going to be ine.

MATT ATTACHES THE ROPEthat

wasleftattachedatthetopofDou-

ble Trouble to his harness and starts

hauling himself up. The journey is

notlong,maybefourstoreyshigh,

butit’stough,precisework,hoist-

ingoneleg,indingatiny,wetshelf

intherockwall,thenaglovedhand,

then the other leg. Once he is up, he

lets the rope back down and Arthur

makes the climb, then Jason, strad-

dling the water and determined not

So far, so good,Jasonthinks.You
wantedaharderchallenge.Yougotit.
here is something intangible yet
wonderful about making it down a
waterfall.It’safeelingofaccomplish-
ment mixed with relief, tossed in with
lots of adrenaline. he water gushes
on either side of a rock formation that
jutsoutfromthewall,landingatthe
bottom in a spray of bubbles.
Wedoitbecauseit’sthere,Jason
thinks.We do it because most people
will never experience this.

AfewminutesbeyondDouble
Trouble, at around 1pm, they stop
foraquicklunch.Andrewfiresup
the Jetboil to make beef and chicken
stewwithrice.heystartoutagain20
minuteslatertogettothecave’send,
only a quarter of a kilometre away.
Butwithinminutes,theyhaveto
turn back; Zac is shivering. Although
the temperature hasn’t changed, the
coldcanhityouatanytime,nomat-
ter how warmly you’re dressed. hey
decide to turn back. Together.
FirstMattgoes,thenArthur,then
Jason, Zac and Andrew. hey retrace
theirroute,tenminutes,then30.he
sound of rushing water is growing
louder.
“Careful!” the cavers up front call

At Double Trouble, the sound of water has turned

intoaroar,anditchurnsinanangrywhitefroth