I lower myself into the cave. All is silent and still. The only sound comes from my breathing; the noise so invasive I almost stop inhaling. In the dark, the light from my hardhat lamp scans the haze. Here I am suspended in a hollow, empty world, and I am an intruder, listening, prodding and trying to peer into the past. What happened here? When? What was it before? Why?

That?s what is intriguing about caves. And that?s what draws me to them. The questions take us back to the origins of these holes in the ground, some of the most interesting pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of evolution. They are mostly formed by limestone that is almost wholly organic, the remains of the shells of molluscs and corals whose skeletons are composed of calcium carbonate drawn from the sea.

It?s amazing to think the curious grey-white rock has its origins in living creatures. Through millions of years, the great impacted seabeds of this fossil-based rock have been thrown up in great geological upheavals, shaping and reshaping the earth. And in this unending darkness strange and fascinating shapes have taken place ? stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, curtains, flowstone, rimstone pools or gours and stones like pearls or glittering crystals. Some stalagmites are so big they dwarf the human scale into insignificance. But some so fragile and delicate, such as the so-called straw-stalactites, they tremble from your breath.

How do the shapes form?
Over eons, nature?s most potent tool, water, works at the dolomite ? digging, etching, collapsing, flooding, dissolving and dripping to create the magical subterranean world. Rivers flow here and where the water?s path is blocked lakes form, until the pressure of the water opens a gap. Then the persistent carving and thrusting liquid continues to eat away at softer material, opening new caverns, joining and linking different systems. The process is dynamic and continues imperceptibly. But in the lifetime of a human being, everything is static. You need to ?fast-forward the film? to see a cave being formed. Imagining how it happened is what caving is all about.

From the earliest times caves have excited man and created many myths and legends. Fortunately, the myths have created such a fear for caves that most humans don?t dare enter them and the formations have been preserved.

Apart from creatures long dead, the underworld sustains a number of life forms that for some speleologists (cave experts) they become studies in themselves. Cave dwellers are divided into three groups: trogloxenes, the occasional and often accidental visitor; troglophiles, species which choose caves for a habitat and flourish there and troglodytes whose life cycle exists entirely in the world of darkness.

Bats are true troglodytes. They are cave dwellers in most parts of the world and there are many bat colonies in South African caves. However, all caves with natural entrances have bats and for many years they have been caught and ringed for studies. Bats, like homing pigeons, can navigate over hundreds of kilometres when taken from their home caves and released in strange territory.

Other troglodytes are the albino eyeless fish and crayfish found in some cave lakes. Beetles, spiders, worms and many other crawlies form the basis of various bio-speleological studies. Some plants too can survive in caves. The most feared are the spores of the fungi that grow on bat dung, which cause hismoplastosis (cave disease). Fortunately this lung disease is curable and the human body builds up immunity after the first attack. So this should not put you off exploring down under.

Caving is as much a psychological as well as a physical activity. You should be prepared to push the envelope as far as both your mind and body are concerned, but the rewards are endless. Try this exciting and challenging sport and you will see how it allows your imagination to run wild as it takes you to the brink of what is both challenging and mysterious. You can abseil, prussik, rock climb, swim in underground lakes, cave dive and explore the unparalleled beauty below the African landscape ? and far from the madding crowd.

On your first descent into a cave or pothole, your attention will be focused on technique and getting used to the unfamiliar underground scene. The process takes time and practice. Expect anything on your first trip. Other than just plain walking it may involve climbing, crawling, squeezing and swimming.

Cave explorers frequently search for new caves. By talking to farmers and landowners and by using aerial photographs, they look for sinkholes and depressions on the surface. Clumps of trees too are telltale signs of cave entrances. Surveying caves is perhaps the most difficult yet most rewarding aspect of speleology. And mapping caves makes it easier for other explorers to come.

Roger Ellis, one of South Africa?s foremost cave experts, says there are more than 850 known wild caves in South Africa and more are discovered every year. Caving is the final frontier of exploration. And it is all in your back garden.

Caving Clubs
Caving is a dangerous sport and should not be attempted by yourself. If you'd like to find out more about caving and access to Southern Africa?s wild caves, contact one of these recognized caving clubs: