Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Facing Fears

We left Taupo on the 5th and headed straight to Waitomo. We skipped zorbing so we could have more time to do some walks in Waitomo. Instead of hiking on Sunday afternoon, we read and packed. We were both feeling a little lazy and were at good spots in our books.

Monday brought exploring by foot and the big adventure, caving in St. Benedict's Cavern. The cave was discovered in the 1950s and is absolutely gorgeous. Speleologists have determined that the cave was a sea cave on the ocean floor long before the ocean receded. Most caves begin as rock that is eroded by water and, once the cave is made, the formations begin forming. This cave had a huge head start on forming formations and it is rich in detail. It was spectacular, with massive stalactites and stalagmites, as well as formations called straws and curtains. Straws are just like they sound, stalactites with hollow middles. Curtains form when a straw plugs up and, because of the angle, the following drops of water and minerals form a curtain-like structure. We learned all sorts of other fascinating features of the cave, but I won't bore you with any more.

The adventurous part is that we had to abseil (or rappel) into the cave and then do a flying fox to get out. I have made it a habit to avoid such activities, but was eager to push my limits. The first abseil was 20 meters (about 65 feet) and the second was 40 meters (about 130 feet). We put on helmets and boots then were strapped into harnesses and given lessons on a hill covered of sheep. At the cave, we were attached to the line and sent on our way. We were both surprised by how much control we had over our movement. It was really fun and produced a surprising lack of adrenaline.

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For me, that was saved for the anticipation of the flying fox. Much like a well-secured clothesline stretched across a cavern, the line was a couple hundred feet long. One of the guides went first and then I elected Hart to follow her. I watched as he was attached to the line and given hanging handle bars to hold on to. The guide at our end gave him the option of turning his light of our leaving it on. Hart turned his light off, as did the rest of us, he lifted up his legs, and went flying across the cavern with a yell. My turn was next. I was much more nervous for this than for the abseiling, but knew I had no other way to get out of the cave. I insisted on keeping all the lights on, fully expecting to have my eyes closed the entire time. Once I was on my way, it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be -- it didn't even scare me enough to warrant a scream. And, I kept my eyes open the whole way, watching the stalactites whiz past.

The whole caving trip was fabulous fun and I was proud to conquer some fears. I doubt bungy jumping will ever be for me, but parasailing now seems calm and relaxing.

1 Comments:

At 12/08/2004 04:27:00 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wonderful pictures of both of you dangling in mid-air. I have to say I'm impressed. I'm more cut out for the Maui part of this adventure. xoxo Sarah/Mom

 

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