Photograph © Dennis Champ
Blog
Kangkwakdi Cave ’09 - The Underground Waterfall
After numerous trips back to the pool at Kangkwakdi this year, and several failed attempts to pass the restriction, at the end of June I was able to get back in the cave, and extend the line.
I planned to spend whatever time it would take to clear the entrance and pass the restriction...and armed with buckets, bags, and some local assistants we loaded the cows as usual and set off. Yet again I was left slack jawed as my helpers carried sets of double tanks barefoot through the jungle, up and down rocky hills.
Carrying double tanks barefoot through the jungle from Triton Technical Diving on Vimeo.
Once at the site it was clear the viz was low, and on entering the passage I was happy to find my original line to follow. At the restriction I was met by a tangle of line, wrapped around tree branches and rocks...and became less optimistic about my chances of penetrating further. However it turned out that although the old line had been broken, probably during the heavy rains, the restriction was now cleared of sand and debris and I could quite happily pass. I tied off new line and moved ahead, anticipating some exciting new discoveries.
After about 20m I found the old line still tied off further into the cave, and was able to stow my new line and continue following the original line I had laid. This speeded my progress in the low visibility. I swam, and swam, and swam, amazed at how far I had travelled on the first dive I did and laid line there...with the low viz I wasn’t able to see as much as before, and ducked under low ceilings, and turned corners I didn’t really remember turning before. After a while I came to the end of my old line, and turn pressure. I took out my fresh line and made a solid tie off, and locked the reel there, ready to lay it out on my second dive.
After cruising back slowly and enjoy the feeling of exiting after a successful dive, I calmly surfaced and let the surface guys know that things were good and we would be hanging around a bit longer. They had meanwhile setup a couple of hammocks and cleared the area so we could enjoy the jungle during the waiting time. Tins of tuna were brought out, along with rice and some chicken. One of the local farmers had hacked into a tree root, and was collecting the sap and adding it some drinking water. “It make you ‘strong’” he said indicating below my waist...
After resting I was keen to get back and extend the line; A quick change of the tanks and off I went, leaving a deco bottle of 100% oxygen at 6m on my way past. I scooted in along the previously laid line, and soon came to the reel I had left there just a few hours before...unlocked it and off I went.
I managed to lay around another 200m of line to the previous 150m, and then the cave started to rise up from 20m and gave me the feeling of coming to the end, or the surface. I had already discussed at length with the locals if there were any other pools around, so I was confident that I would not find myself surfacing in the jungle nearby to where I started.
I did surface though...following the sandy slope upwards, and squeezing myself between a narrow corridor of cave rock, I soon came to the surface of an underground chamber. There was clearly some flow of water pushing me around and I had to hang onto the wall as I tied off my line, and tried not to get dragged away...The roof raised about 2m above my head and there was plenty of room to look around, and plenty of air.
For safety’s sake I didn’t remove my reg...on covering my light is was clear there was no route to daylight, and I was still completely underground. Not bats, no spiders, probably metres of rock between me and the jungle. The source of the water flow was pretty clear though...behind me as I surfaced was a small waterfall. A very nice sight, and enhanced by the fact that I could pretty much know that no other human has ever seen this waterfall before.
Kangkwakdi cave system underground waterfall from Triton Technical Diving on Vimeo.
As the clock was ticking, I took a few moments to enjoy the sight and then turned for home...a gentle swim with a nice feeling of discovery, but a sad feeling that the cave didnt have more passageways, and would not lead to more discoveries...
1 comment
Fredrik Jonsson on 14 Aug 2009 at 10:34
Cool!! Jealous!
Recent entries
- Truk Lagoon a fantastic success - again
- Kangkwakdi Cave ’09 - The Underground Waterfall
- The Pit
- Ash and Sam create stories in Dumaguete
- Asian Tech diving is so good some people never want to leave!
- Apo Island Warm up and Advanced Wreck class in Subic Bay
- Matt and Mike get published
- Graham Macklin makes the grade
- David Joyce - it’s all Irish to me
- Speedy back in Dumaguete
