Hills and Caves

Helen here, It’s been an adventurous day! We are now ensconced in a caravan park on the outskirts of Ballarat. After a brisk and chilly start to the day completing ablutions outside, as the chemical loo was totally full, we headed off back up the steep dirt track away from Lake Elingamite. Poor old Bessie isn’t too impressed with hill starts now that the trailer is on the back with the Subaru in it. We had quite a few big hills today that were hard work, but made up for this doing 90/100 on the flat. Visited these really amazing caves this afternoon. They are on private property and we called ahead, so they were expecting us. We were told to bring our own torches and wear suitable footwear, but other than that we were given no hint of what to expect. As we headed down to the first cave we had to crouch down and squeeze through the entrance. The only one who didn’t need to duck was Jarra. I have to admit I was a little cautious at this point, but soon we were standing up and a huge cavern lay before us. They used to use these caves for local dances last century and you can see why. The place has an air of mystery about it and the acoustics are great. Not to mention that there would be no complaints of too much noise from the neighbours! We went in as far as we could, but the route down to the lake looked a bit hairy and by this point Jarra was clinging to me like a limpet. Those of you who know Jarra also know how little fear he has, but today he knew his own limits. He never said a word or cried, just wanted to be carried and held on very tightly. Right in the centre we turned off the torches and there wasn’t even a glimmer of light. It really was pitch black. On our way out we had a little moment of disorientation and started to head away from the exit. It was pretty scary when it all looked pretty similar, but we saw a chink of light at last and we all breathed a sigh of relief as we headed back up and out. I have to admit I was quite relieved to be back out in the sunlight and I certainly don’t think I will ever be a caver! H