(Erik's Webhome Online)

11 August 2000 : I'm back with more stories to tell. The past few weeks has been a wonderful exploratory time for me. Not only have I visited new places, I have also managed to improve my efficiency in my studies and so far, it has been fruitful. Let's get on with the interesting stuff.

On 5th of August, I went to a place called Margaret River. Although it is called as such, we didn't see no magnificent river. All we saw was just another river. But what is more important is that it is a place for wind surfing. A place called Prevelly Park was one of the stops we had. The wind was very strong. I couldn't hold my camera still enough to take a decent shot. I've got the photo, but I doubt I want to put it up for all to see.

The biggest attraction of all is the NgILGI cave. It is the first underground cave I have ever visited. I think that the whole expedition was cool. We entered the cave through an opening in the ground, decending into a deep abyss. The ambience inside reminded me of my childhood ideas of what hell is like. The moment we entered the underground cave, we felt very warm and were compelled to remove our sweaters. We have been warned to take it slowly while exploring the cave as it was quite hot compared to outside. Above 20 degrees if I remember correctly. Also, humidity will increase to about 98% at the deepest place we will decend to, Cupid's Corner(about 38m deep).

We had lots of fun trying to avoid stalactites from severing our heads. Contrary to popular belief, the stalactites do not fall on people's head and I was merely trying to avoid bumping my head on the low ceiling. It would probably take a very lucky person to have a stalactite fall on his/her head. Stalactites are very strong structures. However, stalagmites will easily give way to pressure.

Climbing down the man-made stair-like steps was easy, but we were asking for it. Climbing up is definitely more difficult. I had fun taking photos. And they are really good. If you want to see them online, I have already put them up in my Margaret River Photo Album.

We came to one point where we could see sunlight directly above us. Some wise guy drilled a small straight tunnel down into the cave for those rangers working below who were probably craving for light. We also got to hold some calcite stalactites. They felt heavy for their size.

The greatest sight I saw was that of a tiny natural cubicle in the wall of the cave. The cubicle is known as the Jewel Case and it houses one of the most magnificent natural structures ever. A kind of formation never seen before was there for me to behold. There were also two straw stalactite structures inside the the case.

I guess the lighting in the cave gave it an atmosphere that reveals the creepiness of the dank cave. Green, orange and red lights magnified the beautiful formations for all to see. One thing good about the cave was that we didn't have to worry about guano. No, bats do not leave inside this underground cave. They prefer caves high up in the mountain, I presume.

Another attraction was the very huge amphitheatre located to the left of the entrace. The amphitheatre would make a really cool cinema, I think.

Then came the long trek upwards. We took longer than expected but were very happy to see sunlight once again. All in all, we traversed about 25% of the cave. This was all that is accessible to the public. Who knows what lies beyond that. The hellish experience is certainly something to remember for life.

Also, we managed to stop at Busselton, home to the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. The weather wasn't very encouraging (not to mention the bus roof leaking) so we did not manage to explore that place. Anyway, the jetty took about 95 years to build and the project started in 1865. It has seen a few tragedies such as huge engulfing fires since then.

Margaret River town was not interesting.

I managed to go to Brookton, the second coldest town in Western Australia, the following day. We did not visit many places but we certainly had a great time trying out three different flavours of kangaroo stew. Call us heartless, but we enjoyed it. Kangaroo meat tastes like beef.

That's all for now. Do have a look at the photos I put up for my visit to Brookton, Margaret River and Busselton, and also Sorrento Quay (I've got a nice picture of the sun setting).

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