Millennium Cave Tour - Espiritu Santo

I'll be the first to admit that I am no cave man. I don't particularly enjoy the water either. I'm not that great with heights and I have never been canyoning.  I've been known to do a bit of tramping where I can but to combine it with all of the above doesn't fill me with the greatest excitement. That, and the potential threat of flesh eating disease as a result of contact with bat guano in caves just doesn't do it for me. Its safe to say I undertook the Millennium Cave Tour in a state of relatively blissful ignorance.

 

Myself and my guide, the 17yr old Renauld, trek out into the jungle armed only with lunch, some torches and our life jackets. Its been raining a bit recently so the track is quite muddy and slippery, but we keep a good pace, and it feels like a typical muddy bushwalk somewhere in New Zealand with a few more vines and much less moss on the trees.


The jungle is quiet and the clouds are low and soon the sound of the river emerges from the bush and we pull up at a platform for my initiation into the cave. Renauld grabs a coconut shell with a dash of red clay in it and proceeds to anoint my forehead, nose, cheeks and chin with various symbols to represent the elements of the walk. The bat on my forehead, the waterfall on my nose, the rocks on my cheeks and the river on my chin.

What would Chuck Norris do? (Thanks Renee Andikar.)

We proceed downhill now. The sound of the river louder. Swallows dip and flip above us. They sky grey with rain threatening. The path is slippery and the steps uneven. We enter the gorge. I ignore my misgivings. Swallows and bats stream out of the cave as the water gushes inwards. Hugging the cliff walls and holding the vines for support, I don't look down. This is probably not my scene but we press forward.

 

 

Eyeing the cave entrance with some trepidation I follow Renauld into the cave, scrambling down over huge boulders. Renauld asks if I want a photo taken but I am preoccupied by other things. I tighten the life vest and we start down the cave to the smell of ammonia, the noise of the water and some chattering above our heads. The water is knee to waist deep and with only the help of a couple of torches its a bit unnerving not seeing where you are stepping. There is a bit of guano on the rocks around with all the attendant insect life that it attracts. David Attenborough bat documentaries spring to mind. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p006ffwv

 

 

I keep my head down and Renauld close by, not bothering too much about admiring the view inside the cave which is impressive it has to be said. The roof is high and the walls are wide and carved smooth with the force of water. I'm eager to get out though; I'm not claustrophobic, just uneasy with the unfamiliar. Renauld has the sense to see that I am not too happy and takes his time.  

 

 

We emerge from the other end of the cave and stop for lunch of banana and pawpaw and take a bit of a rest from all of the excitement. Renauld takes the mickey out of me for a while but I don't care. At least he kept his thoughts to himself in the cave.

 

The next part of the adventure is the canyoning down the river. We spend the time clambering up, under and over enormous boulders in the gorge. It was pretty exciting and leg shaky at times and a good way to distract your brain from thinking too much. This bouldering was interspersed with floating and swimming down the gorge passing waterfalls and sheer rock walls shaped smooth by water. It was the most peaceful section of the tour. Renauld went swimming ahead yelping to himself, whistling an occasional tune. The water was cold for him but comfortable for me. Finally after about 40 minutes of swimming we left the river and made a near vertical climb up a dryish waterfall with the help of ropes and made our way back to the village.

The Canyon. (Copyright, Karen Henry)

I'd do it again for sure. I'd do it again because I would know what to expect next time, whereas the only information I gathered before was the threat of flesh eating disease which fed the over active workings of my imagination. The tramping wasn't too strenuous, the caving wasn't as bad as my imagination projected and the canyoning was brilliant. We probably belted through it a little bit fast but that's controllable. Its probably best to slow down in the rush from A to B and enjoy the view despite the gushing water, the steep drops and the muddy track.

 

 

The Andikar Clan of Vunaspef Village have something great going on here with the Millennium Cave Tour. Its a family run business where all the profits go back to community projects such as kindergartens as well as a new school currently being built. They are very proud of what they have got here and what they have achieved for their village with the tour. If you are ever in Santo when I am here lets check it out.

 

 

A decent level of fitness and lack of injuries is a good idea.
 

Millennium Cave Tour - http://millenniumcavetour.weebly.com/index.html

Millennium Cave School Project