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

After lunch we drove round to the parking for Croesus Cave, which it turns out is the same parking as for Lynds the day before. The 2 caves are actually very close, essentially just on opposite sides of the Mersey River. We were joined by another new face – Damian, who is an ex-pat Brit and former member of the Wessex. We were warned that Croesus is very wet and so wetsuits are essential. Vikki had brought her own from home and I borrowed one of Cathie’s, which fit like a glove. Very much appreciated Cathie!

It was a relatively short walk to the entrance, back up the road a bit and then cross country on a very vague, more or less non-existent track. It is actually quite a grand entrance, although it soon closes down, just beyond the gate, to a short hands and knees crawl. We regrouped on the other side in a nice, fairly dry, walking-sized passage. But it was short-lived as we were soon ducking through an arch and wading in increasingly deep water. There was a howling gale blowing out though this arch. Eventually the floor rose and things got very nice indeed.

The depth of the streamway varied from almost nothing to full on swimming, although, thankfully for me, it was always possible to scramble around the edges and thus avoid actual swimming. For long sections, the floor was calcite, so we had to be careful in quite a few places not to damage it. As with Lynds, the walls and ceiling were covered in almost continuous formations. The scale seemed bigger than Lynds though, so I found it harder to photograph with my very old (and cheap) phone.

At one point we had to traverse around a deep pool. This was accomplished by climbing around the right hand side on small holds and then posting oneself through a very convenient hole. The passage just got better on the other side.

Eventually we came to the Golden Stairs, where we had to climb a staircase of gour pools, being very careful not to step on the rims or in the pools (which were mostly dry, apart from some mud). As I was at the back, I had the benefit of watching the trail of cavers ascending to heaven. What an amazing sight.

The formations didn’t reduce at the top. At one point, Damian (who seemed to know the cave particularly well) suggested that I should clamber up to have a look on top of a particular boulder. Wow! It was covered with the most delicate, almost translucent, mini gour-like structures.

Shortly after this, Cathie, Bob, Viki and I turned back, while David and Damian carried on for a bit. I believe it’s possible to do a through trip – the howling gale earlier would certainly suggest so – but not on this occasion. For some of us, this was our 3rd trip in 2 days and we were getting a bit tired.

On the way out, we seemed to go a bit too high and were quite surprised to see David & Damian simply walking along the streamway far below us. Apart from that, the journey out went quickly enough. At the traverse around the deep pool, Vikki (being half fish) decided it would be easier just to plunge in and swim. I think Damian did the same. I didn’t! Cathie’s light was fading, so we ended up travelling together for the last section.

Croesus was one of the best decorated caves I’ve ever seen, probably the most. Lynds and Genghis Khan weren’t bad either. I tried to think of anything that even comes close in the UK. Otter Hole is probably the closest. Maybe the White River Series in Peak/Speedwell? There certainly aren’t many. And definitely nothing so easily accessible.

Sadly, this was the end of our Tasmanian caving adventure. We had a great time and would really like to thank all the Northern Caverneers we met, particularly Cathie, who put so much time and effort into making it all possible. Needless to say, we would love to reciprocate one day. Any Northern Caverneers can be assured of a warm KCC welcome if ever you’re up north! Thanks all so much.

Photos by Ray.

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.

Vikki, Ray and Northern Caverneers Cathie, David & Peter

While travelling around Tasmania, Vikki & I thought it would be nice to have a look in some of the local caves. So, before leaving the UK, Vikki had made contact with Cathie P from the Northern Caverneers, who had promised to show us some caves around the Mole Creek area over a 2 day period. We were not to be disappointed!

So there we were outside the Mole Creek Hotel, bright and early on Sunday morning, not really sure what to expect, but very excited. Peter was first to arrive and say hello, soon followed by Cathie & David. After some introductions, we jumped in with Peter for the short drive up to the usual parking spot. There was some discussion about the best clothing to wear for Lynds. Vikki had come prepared for anything, with both dry caving suit and wetsuit. I had come only with my usual fleece undersuit and oversuit, but Cathie had very kindly brought several wetsuits for me to try on. The issue with this particular cave it seemed is that, while it is dry enough once underground, the Mersey River has to be crossed to get to the entrance. Sometimes this is a full on swim (my eyes widened considerably at this news!), but recent dry conditions meant it was more likely just to be a wade through deep water on this occasion (phew!). On balance, we all decided to dispense with wetsuits for this trip.

We set off on a rather vague path and soon reached the point at which the river had to be crossed, directly opposite the entrance. Cathie set off first, followed by Vikki, while I watched rather nervously from the bank. It didn’t seem too bad at all at first, but gradually more and more of Cathie & Vikki disappeared below water, until only their arms, shoulders and heads were visible. Thankfully, at that point they started to slowly reappear as they passed the worst and began to re-emerge on the far side. At this point I could no longer put it off, so began my own crossing. It all would have gone ok, apart from the coldness of the water, but in the deeper section the river bottom is very uneven, with lots of trip hazards – not ideal for an aquaphobe. Vikki noticed that I had almost ground to a halt in the middle so, wanting to actually get into the cave, plunged back in to hold my hand and gee me along. David and Peter must have been wondering what on earth was going on as they waited until I was across before entering the water themselves.

Once across the river, the bank has to be followed for a very short distance to the cave entrance, again through deep water, but with things to hold on to this time. The entrance itself is hidden behind a large block and, like the other caves we subsequently visited, is gated and locked. It starts as a nice walking-sized passage, but very quickly there is a deep pool to traverse around with a small (1.5m) waterfall to climb at the far side. Opinions seemed to differ on the best route to take around the pool. Either way, it involves climbing around the edge on small holds. Cathie preferred the long way round (to the right), which she thought was easier, while David recommended the more traditional and shorter route to the left. Vikki and Peter followed Cathie. I took David’s recommendation and set off to the left. To be honest, it was pretty easy, with lots of handholds, although considerably less for the feet. The waterfall was very easy indeed to climb, so no problems there.

The waterfall climb is almost like the true entrance to the cave. Above this, the passage is just festooned with stunning formations, almost wherever you look. Like us, Peter had never been into Lynds before, so he and I were stopping at almost every step to photograph some new formation, or even an old one from a different perspective. I hope his camera was better than mine as my cheap phone simply couldn’t do justice to the place.

As promised, water levels weren’t particularly high. There was also no mud, no crawling, no squeezing, no pitches… in fact, progress was very easy, with just the odd easy boulder obstacle to overcome. I can fully understand why a locked gate is necessary, given the delicate nature of the jewels behind it.

I believe we managed to get as far as the Ballroom, which isn’t very far at all. But we took a very long time to get there due to the photography and general looking around to attempt to take it all in. Along the way, we saw the full range of cave formations, including stals, very long straws, columns, curtains, stunning flowstone cascades, gour pools… you name it, we saw it… and all at a very high standard indeed. At one point we found ourselves climbing up the most stunning golden coloured flowstone cascade alongside a fabulous stepped calcite pillar. In several places, the calcite flows had been cracked in an earthquake in the 1990s (I believe?). This in itself was well worth seeing, to get a glimpse at the layering inside the cracks.

Alas, we had to turn around eventually. The pathetic distance we had covered became obvious as we reached the waterfall climb in no time at all and soon we were out in the heat of the Tasmanian afternoon. Vikki didn’t even bother to ask if I needed assistance to get back across the river – she more or less dragged me across. On the walk back, we came across a snake at the side of the path. Concensus among the experts was that it was a tiger snake, although there were some suggestions that it could also have been a copperhead. From a personal survival perspective, it made very little difference to me as they are both equally venomous.

After getting changed, we sat at a very conveniently-placed picnic table for a spot of afternoon snackage. All very civilised. Can’t imagine that on Leck Fell, at any time of year. We then bade goodbye to Cathie & David for the day and were promised a double trip the next day – see separate reports.

Peter drove us back to our car at the Mole Creel Hotel, where we obviously had to pop in for a beer. Despite my insistence that we should buy Peter a beer, he amply demonstrated Aussie hospitality by insisting even more that he should buy ours. We gave in gracefully. Cheers Peter.

We went to bed that night both stunned by what we had seen and excited about what tomorrow would bring.

Photos by Ray – apologies for the poor quality.