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Trip Images courtesy of Danny Wilkinson are HERE |
In January of 2016 nine members of WASG and SRGWA visited the Mole Creek area of Tasmania thanks to a generous invitation extended by Dave Wools-Cobb of the Mole Creek Caving Club. Our intrepid adventurers, braving the cold and wet world of Tasmanian caves were Andrew Thomas, Aimee Leong, Gregoriy Tsaplin, Brett Wiltshire, Luana Dwyer, Danny Wilkinson, Weidi Koh, Asha Lane and Jane Wong.
Thanks to the generosity of SRGWA we were able to visit some of the most beautiful and exciting caves in the country, including Kubla Khan, Croesus, Lynds, Marrakoopa 1 & 2, Tailender and Genghis. As well as experiencing the aforementioned delights some of our number also undertook the, now infamous, Hangover-Flyover crossover trip. After experiencing the beauty of Mole Creek, and farewelling the less fortunate at Launceston Airport, Andrew, Brett, Danny and Gregoriy continued south to Hobart to meet Ric Tunney and Janine McKinnon of the Southern Tasmanian Caverneers.
Ric and Janine were our guides to the bigger and much more vertical, especially for WA cavers, Junee Florentine and Ida Bay caving areas. Plumbing the depths of Midnight Hole and Khazad Dum and doing the Slaughterhouse Pot / Growling Swallet circuit trip we were joined two Austrian cavers – Bernd and Jasmin, though Bernd had fractured his wrist and was limited to the more horizontal entrances of caves. After a thoroughly enjoyable, and prussic intensive, introduction to ‘proper’ vertical caves we sadly had to leave and return home with only memories and some awesome photos to share.
Tasmania has a lot to offer any caver, both horizontal and vertical, and I’m sure I am not alone in contemplating a return in the future. Thanks again to Dave, Ric and Janine and all of the other Tasmanian cavers who hosted us and made sure we had an awesome trip.
By Andrew Thomas
