Genghis Khan Cave, Tasmania

Vikki & Ray with Northern Caverneers Cathie, David, Karen & Bob

Day 2 of our Tasmanian caving adventure again started with meeting at the Mole Creek Hotel, this time at 08:45 as we had 2 caves to fit in – Genghis Khan Cave before lunch and then Croesus Cave after. See separate report for Croesus.

When we arrived at the hotel, Cathie & David were already there, as were new faces (to us) Karen & Bob. A few introductions later and we were on our way in convoy to the parking for Genghis. The last part of the journey was off-road and our car wasn’t deemed fit for the track, so we jumped in with Bob. No debate about clothing this time as Genghis is totally dry.

It was a relatively short, but uphill walk to the entrance, made much easier by recent clearance of the track. I believe Bob & David were involved in that. Thanks guys! As we stood to catch our breath, a very hungry leech made a beeline straight for us. No snakes this time though.

Once at the entrance, David produced a rope. Hmmm. Should we have brought SRT kit? Thankfully it was just for use as a handline on the initial climb down on the other side of the entrance gate, which was again locked. The handline wasn’t strictly necessary as the climb was easy enough, but thanks for bringing it David. There was talk of a cave spider partway down the climb, which I kept my eyes peeled for when it was my turn to climb down. Sure enough, there he was, all big and spidery, deep in an alcove. We had a brief discussion and agreed to keep out of each other’s way. The spider seemed to take this quite seriously as he hadn’t moved by the time we came past again on our way out.

The cave continued down steeply. At one point, Cathie, who was now at the front, wasn’t sure of the way on. David took the lead and popped through a slot directly onto another climb down. This looked quite daunting from above, but there were plenty of ledges to move your feet down, so wasn’t too bad in the end. At the bottom of this climb it all got much bigger. There was a trough for washing feet, which I took as a very good sign as it must mean there were pretties ahead.

We worked our way down into the large chamber/passage, then doubled back to the left. Bob, who was behind me, questioned the left turn, suggesting instead that we should carry straight on down. Still, we carried on and soon found another foot bath. Beyond this, the formations really started to kick in. First there was a forest of straws, then the walls and ceiling were covered in formations that I can only describe as being porcupine-like. I’d never seen the like before.

We arrived at the top of a fallen slab, sloping down at an angle of 20 degrees or so. At this point, there seemed to be general agreement that we should have taken Bob’s route earlier. This whole section is actually a loop, so you could go either way round in theory, but Bob’s way was more optimal from the perspective of keeping boots clean at the relevant times. So we retraced our steps the short distance and carried on down the slope.

Like Lynds Cave, the formations were spectacular and virtually continuous, although of a very different character. Eventually we reached a climb up into a grotto which was simply amazing. There were some very unusual formations, almost like upside down trees hanging from the ceiling. Again, I’d never seen anything like it before.

It took a while, but we eventually tore ourselves away from the grotto, which was a dead-end. We climbed back down and then found the bottom of the ramp we had been at the top of earlier. It was easy enough to crawl up, but wasn’t something you would want to rush. The ceiling, which is only 2 or 3 feet above the floor is festooned with the porcupine-like formations, with the odd straw and helictite thrown in for good measure.

At the top of the slab, we simply had to retrace our steps and we were soon back at the various climbs to daylight, which didn’t pose too much of a problem for anyone. This was quite a short trip – we were probably only underground for 1.5 hours or so – but it really packs a punch. Very different from Lynds, but no less impressive.

Once changed, we all decamped to one of the show caves (I think it was King Solomon’s), where there was a very nice shelter for a spot of lunch. After lunch, Karen sadly had to leave us. Cathie, David and Bob stayed for the afternoon cave – see separate report.

Photos by Ray.