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CAVES
The Journal of the Australian Speleological Federation
AUSTRALIA
Craybacks • Windjana Exploration
Christmas Island • Mexico Expedition
No. 208 • JUNE 2019
CAVES AUSTRALIA
Caves Australia
ASF
Caves Australia is the Journal of the
Australian Speleological Federation and is
published quarterly. No. 208 June 2019
This work is © copyright 2019, Australian Speleological Federation
Australian Speleological Federaton Inc, PO Box 388 • Broadway • NSW 2007 • www.caves.org.au
although copyright in articles, photographs ABN 15 169 919 964
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Contents
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consent of the author and/or publisher and
the inclusion and acknowledgement of the Craybacks and Lobsters................................................................................................................................................. 3
source. Subaerial Stromatolitic Stalagmites in Australian Caves
The views expressed in Caves Australia
Garry K. Smith
are not necessarily those of the Editor or
Publisher (the Australian Speleological Windjana Gorge Exploration, Kimberley WA...................................................................................... 7
Federation Inc) or its Executive, Alan Pryke
Commissions or Committees.
Editor: eDNA Sampling Expedition to Christmas Island, 2018.......................................................... 13
Alan Jackson Brett Wiltshire
Email: alan.jackson@lmrs.com.au
Beyond the Sump Expedition 2018............................................................................................................... 17
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Page 2 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019
CAVE SCIENCE
Craybacks and Lobsters
Subaerial Stromatolitic Stalagmites in Australian Caves
Garry K. Smith
NHVSS
S TALAGMITES which resemble the
shape of a ‘crayback’ or ‘lobster’ have
a distinctive hump ridge shape, with a
characteristic layered or stepped profile,
described by ‘Argus’ (1898) as similar to a
crustacean’s segments.
They are only found in partial daylight
and twilight zones of caves where there is
air movement, a steady supply of dripping
cave water and the presence of photosyn-
thetic cyanobacteria.
Examples can be found in NSW at Nettle
Cave (Jenolan), Victoria Arch (Wombeyan)
and Arch Cave (Abercrombie) (Cox 1984).
Other examples have been reported in
Daylight Cave (Yessabah, NSW) (Vaughn-
Taylor 1991) and on the other side of
Australia in 6KNI80 cave (Ning Bings, East
Kimberly, WA) (B. Kershaw pers. comm.).
The nickname or colloquial term used
to describe these features often becomes
confusing as different terms are used at each
of the three main cave areas in NSW where
they are found. Terms used in historic
and scientific literature include ‘crayback’,
‘lobster’, ‘lobsterback’ and ‘crayfish-like’.
Argus’ 1898 description of these
uniquely-shaped stalagmites at Jenolan
Caves appears to be the first instance where
they are likened to a crustacean’s back.
He writes, ‘Other stalagmites take the
form of immense lobsters…’ The presence
of ‘craybacks’ at Wombeyan was first
GARRY K SMITH
recorded in the book Wombeyan Caves
(James et al. 1982, p. 130). The study by
Cox et al. (1989a) identified 28 similar
stalagmites of various sizes in Nettle Cave, Sonia Taylor-Smith with crayback in Victoria Arch, Wombeyan NSW
Jenolan and notes the presence of examples creating them are only able to grow and between the layers of calcite crystals. In
at Wombeyan and Abercrombie. Osborne flourish where there is a balance between simplistic terms, they use the carbon from
(1991) described ‘craybacks’ as being abun- microbial activity, sunlight, wind and rate the hydrogen carbonate in the cave drip wa-
dant in the Abercrombie Arch, with the of cave drip water (Barlow 2017). Mulec ter and release oxygen to the atmosphere.
best examples located in the Hall of Terp- et al. (2007) states that, ‘At present just a By reducing the carbon dioxide content
sichore. It appeared that the more people few examples are known where growth of of the cave drip water (particularly within
looked, the more were being found. speleothems is linked with biolithogenic the sticky mucilage layers covering their
However, compared to the majority of activity of certain organisms.’ surface), the bacteria cause preferential
other speleothems found in caves, crayfish- These odd-shaped speleothems are the deposition of calcium carbonate (CaCO3)
like stalagmites are not common as they result of photosynthetic cyanobacteria around their structure. In addition, any
require specific conditions to exist. This is (sometimes loosely referred to as blue- aeolian sedimentary particles landing on
because the photosynthetic cyanobacteria green algae) growing on the surface and the damp surface are trapped and cemented
Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 • Page 3
Craybacks and Lobsters — Subaerial Stromatolitic Stalagmites in Australian Caves
solution drips fall. The further drops fall,
the more they splash to create a broader
ASF
stalagmite (Gams 1981).
Cox et al. (1989a) determined from their
study of Jenolan and Wombeyan craybacks
that they are all elongated, having their
long axes greater than their height. How-
ever, recent inspection of some examples at
Abercrombie revealed that there are some
exceptions to the physical ratio noted by
Cox et al. (1989a).
Most have one end larger than the other,
the larger end being referred to as the head
and a tapering end called the tail. Cox et
al. (1989a) found there was no relationship
between direction of the most intense light
(presumably the region of maximum calcite
deposition) and the head orientation of the
crayback.
The three main locations of craybacks
in NSW, Jenolan, Wombeyan and Aber-
crombie are in arch or tunnel caves at the
bottom of deeply incised valleys. Pockets
of temperate rainforest in the bottom of
the surrounding valleys help to maintain a
higher humidity in the prevailing breezes
which blow back and forth with changes in
surface meteorological conditions.
LINKING SPELEOTHEMS TO
STROMATOLITES.
You may recall the article published in
Caves Australia 203 (Smith 2018) which
provided an overview of the photosynthetic
bacteria being among the earliest lifeforms
on earth, which created stromatolites
and thrombolites. The majority of these
grew while immersed in shallow saline
to hypersaline waters and, depending on
location, may have been subject to brief
periods out of water.
There are other examples in fresh
alkaline water, such as those in the Blue
Lake and at least eight sinkhole (cenote)
Figure 1: Proposed model for the formation of a crayfish-like stalagmite after Cox et al. (1989a)
lakes around Mount Gambier SA (Thur-
together along with the precipitated CaCO3. the stalagmite as constant breezes blow gate 1996). However, the photosynthetic
Over time the photosynthetic bacterial back and forth through large cave arches, bacteria causing the creation of craybacks
colonies grow layer upon layer of calcium causing the drip line to move along a linear in caves are only under a thin film of water
carbonate along with trapped aeolian sedi- axis. and may have extended periods when they
ment, while constantly reoccupying the up- This wet patch of the drip line on the are completely dry. Cox et al. (1989a) states
permost layer to create large calcareous cave floor is referred to as a ‘footprint’ and ‘they are the only known stromatolites
structures. ‘They can be regarded as stro- is the beginning of a crayback’s creation which have formed without even periodic
matolites within currently accepted defini- (Osborne 1991). Cox et al. (1989a) provides submersion.’
tions of the term’ (Cox et al. 1989b). an excellent theoretical diagram of a But who was the first to determine that
crayback’s growth (Figure 1). crayfish-like stalagmites in Australian caves
ORIENTATION AND SHAPE Thus, the orientation of the crayback’s were actually stromatolitic structures?
These distinctively shaped ‘crayfish-like’ elongated shape usually aligns with the James et al. (1982) identified that the
stalagmites are found almost exclusively airflow direction through an arch. The unusual speleothems in Victoria Arch at
in the entrance areas of caves, where some distance the cave drip water falls and the Wombeyan were classed as stromatolites.
direct or filtered daylight can penetrate, strength of the prevailing breezes have Cox et al. (1989a), determined that the
and where there is a reasonably constant a great influence over the length and stalagmites found in Nettle Cave, Jenolan
supply of drip water and relatively high orientation of the resulting crayback. must be considered as ‘stromatolites’, be-
humidity. The airflow past the stalagmite The ratio of a crayback’s length to width cause they fit the classification described by
also has a bearing on the relative shape of is a function of the distance in which the Aitken (1967). Aitken’s description refers
Page 4 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 
Craybacks and Lobsters — Subaerial Stromatolitic Stalagmites in Australian Caves
CAVE SCIENCE
GARRY K SMITH
Garry K Smith with a crayback in Arch Cave, Abercrombie NSW
to stromatolites being structures created by and allochthonous layers of dust, grains ever, carry out photosynthesis in exactly the
an organic film directly trapping or agglu- and animal matter deposited in dry sea- same way as true (eukaryotic) algae’ (Cox et
tinating sedimentary material or indirectly sons’ (Cox et al. 1989b). al. 1989a).
precipitating calcium carbonate as a result Uranium-thorium dating by mass Cycles of cyanobacterial activity and cal-
of the life processes of microbiota. spectrometry of a piece of cyanobacteri- cite deposition were observed on crayback
The quandary over a more scientific ally covered stalagmite from Nettle Cave, stalagmites in Nettle Cave, Jenolan, by Cox
name for the ‘crayback’, ‘lobster’ and ‘cray- Jenolan, indicated that the sample was over et al. (1989a, b). Below permanent drips in
fish-like’ stalagmites was finally resolved in 20,000 years old. Cox et al. (1989b) esti- dry periods, the cyanobacterial colonies
the paper by Cox et al. (1989b), where they mated some of the larger structures to be were active and a deep blue-green colour.
are referred to as ‘Subaerial stromatolitic at least 100,000 years old. Further study of Dust and detrital material whipped up by
stalagmites.’ Needless to say the debate over oxygen and carbon isotope data from spe- the dry breezes were observed collecting on
which nickname or colloquial terminology leothem layers and trapped organic materi- the colonies.
should be used has continued at various als could provide additional past climatic The craybacks then turned white when
cave sites with the inevitable reference back information. Due to their morphology and drip rates increased during periods of
to historic literature. It is proposed here composition, craybacks represent a well- heavy and prolonged rainfall. The increased
that the term ‘crayback’ could be used as preserved, consistent paleoclimatic record, deposition of calcite partly buries the active
a generic nickname, instead of the other as they have not been exposed to intense cyanobacterial layer which is contributing
terms, which liken the ‘Subaerial stromato- weathering like stromatolites outside the to the increased calcite precipitation rate.
litic stalagmites’ to a shape similar to a cave environment. When the drip rate slowed during drier
segmented crustacean’s back. periods, the cyanobacteria continued to
CYANOBACTERIA divide and break through the calcite crystals
STRUCTURE AND The bacteria creating craybacks belong to recolonise the surface of the stalagmites
SCIENTIFIC VALUE to the phylum — the principal taxonomic in a matter of weeks. Within five months
Physical analysis of sectioned crayback category — of cyanobacteria also known the surface of the crayback stalagmites
samples from Jenolan and Abercrombie as cyanophyta, which obtain their energy returned to a bright bluish-green.
revealed their structure to consist of alter- through photosynthesis and are the only However, in extended dry periods the
nating coralloid and laminated layers and photosynthetic prokaryotes able to produce surface of the stalagmites may become
incorporated detrital grains. Their com- oxygen. The name cyanobacteria comes dry, causing the photosynthetic bacteria to
position was found to be primarily calcite from the cyan colour of the bacteria (Greek: become dormant, loosing most of their
(Cox et al. 1989a and Osborne 1991). κυανός). dark green colour and becoming pale green
Seasonal conditions cause layering ‘Cyanobacteria (popularly called blue- or grey-black.
of the crayback structure, ‘with solid or green algae) are not true algae but prokary- In an in-depth study by Vardeh et al.
coralline layers deposited in wet seasons otes (allies of the bacteria). They do, how- (2018), comparing Jenolan and Wombeyan
Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 • Page 5
Craybacks and Lobsters — Subaerial Stromatolitic Stalagmites in Australian Caves
CAVE SCIENCE
GARRY K SMITH
GARRY K SMITH
Crayback in Nettle Cave, Jenolan NSW Subaerial stromatolite stalagmite section close-up (sample at Jenolan)
craybacks, they identified ‘significant while actinobacteria are mainly indicators environmental conditions are met.’
differences between the microbial com- of inactive structures and bare rock and soil For further reading about other types of
munities of speleothem biofilms …’ within (Vardeh et al. 2018). subaerial stromatolites, it is worth looking
different caves, ‘… and between actively Cox (1984), when comparing scrapings at Subaerial freshwater phosphatic stromato-
accreting and inactive and weathered struc- of common wall algae — cyanobacterium lites in Deer Cave, Sarawak — A unique
tures.’ There was dominance shifting from from the entrance chambers of Spanish and geobiological cave formation (Lundberg and
Chroococcales to Actinomycetales and Papua New Guinea caves (Cox et al. 1981) McFarlane 2011).
highly desiccation-resistant and oligotro- — and scrapings from a Jenolan ‘lobster’,
phic Rubrobacterales with decreasing water stated: ‘If … this is the alga responsible for ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
availability. the formation of the Lobsters, we have the Thank you to Dr Julia James for helpful
Taxonomic analysis of the surface bacte- interesting situation of a fairly common comments regarding terminology used in
ria on craybacks showed that cyanobacteria cave‐wall alga forming rather uncommon historic literature.
are indicators of active speleothems only, structures — presumably when stringent
REFERENCES
Aitken, J. D. 1967 Classification and envi- Cox, G., James, J.M., Leggett, K.E.A. & Mulec, J., Kosi, G. & Vrhovšek, D. 2007
ronmental significance of cryptalgal Osborne, R.A.L. 1989b Cyanobacterially Algae promote growth of stalagmites
limestones and dolomites with illustra- deposited speleothems: Subaerial and stalactites in karst caves (Škocjanske
tions from the Cambrian and Ordovi- stromatolites. Geomicrobiol. Journal, Jame, Slovenia). Carbonates Evaporites,
cian of South Western Alberta. Journal 7(4): 245-252. 22(1) Article 6.
of Sedimentary Research, 37: 1163-1178. Dyson, J., Ellis, R. & James, J.M. (eds) 1982 Osborne, R.A.L. 1991 A geological review
‘Argus’ 1898 The Jenolan Caves and the Blue Wombeyan Caves, Sydney Speleological of Abercrombie Caves, Helictite, 29(1):
Mountains, Cumberland-Argus News- Society Occasional Paper No. 8 8-18.
papers; Parramatta 60 pp. Gams, I. 1981 Contribution to morpho- Smith, G.K., 2018 Karsting light on stro-
Barlow E.V. 2017 Conveying the impor- metrics of stalagmites. Proceedings, VIII matolites and thrombolites. Caves
tance of stromatolites to self-guided International Congress of Speleology, Australia, 203: 11-13.
tourists in Nettle Cave, Jenolan, NSW. Bowling Green, pp. 276-277. Thurgate, M.E. 1996, The stromatolites of
Proceedings, 17th International Congress James, J. M., Jennings J. N. & Dyson H. J. the cenote lakes of the Lower South
of Speleology, Penrith NSW pp. 129-133. 1982 Mineral decoration and weather- East of South Australia. Helictite, 34(1):
Cox, G., Benson, D. & Dwarte, D.M. 1981 ing of the caves [in] Dyson, J., Ellis, R. 17-25.
Ultrastructure of a cave‐wall cyano- & James, J. M. (eds), Wombeyan Caves. Vaughn-Taylor, K. 1991 What happened
phyte ‐ Gloeocapsa NS4. Arch. Micro- Sydney Speleological Society Occa- at Yessabah. Proceedings, 18th Biennial
biol., 130: 165-174. sional Paper No. 8. pp. 121-136. Conference of the Australian Speleologi-
Cox, G. 1984 Phototropic stalagmites at Lundberg, J. & McFarlane, D. 2011 Subaer- cal Federation, Margaret River W.A. pp.
Jenolan Caves, NSW. Helictite, 22(2): ial freshwater phosphatic stromatolites 108-113.
54-56. in Deer Cave, Sarawak – A unique geo- Vardeh, D.P., Woodhouse, J.N. & Neilan,
Cox, G., James, J.M., Osborne R.A.L. & biological cave formation. Geomorphol- B.A. 2018 Microbial diversity of
Leggett, K.E.A. 1989a Stromatolitic ogy, 128: 57-72. speleothems in two southeast Australian
crayfish-like stalagmites. Proceedings limestone cave arches. Journal of Cave
of the University of Bristol Spelæological and Karst Science, 8(3): 121-132.
Society, 18(4): 339-358.
Page 6 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 
EXPLORATION
Windjana Gorge Exploration,
Kimberley WA
Alan Pryke
SUSS
ALAN PRYKE
Windjana: Coral Maze North
D URING the July 2015 Windjana
Gorge expedition (Pryke 2016), a
major cave, KN73, Coral Maze was en-
the high cliff entrance and KN73 tag and only exit large enough to traverse is an
surveying began. Two survey teams were abandoned upper level, opening up high in
formed, one heading west (Mark Sefton the cliff line.
tered and as no known survey existed, theand Tina Willmore) and the other east There is no obvious single resurgence,
group set about systematically mapping (Megan and Alan Pryke). It soon became instead many stains from cracks high on
the complex cave. apparent that the cave was more complex the reef limestone wall. In fact, the whole
The cave had previously been entered than realised, as the name suggests, with cave sits near the top of the 60 m limestone
on the 2014 expedition by Megan and Alan junction after junction. wall, suggesting some sort of aquiclude
Pryke, who found it by following a dry The cave collects wet season rain from blocking vertical development.
surface creek to the streamsink, a large cav-
the plateau and channels it towards the cliff Various parts of the cave were named,
ernous entrance. As no cave tag was found,
line. Passages within the cave are generally including TIMTAM Corner, which Mark
brief exploration led to the prospect of large and horizontal, with a slight gradient translated as ‘Tick Infestation Makes Tina
mapping. Large easy passages led off every-
towards the cliff. Large gours are common Absolutely Miserable.’
where. To get some idea of the extent of the
along the stream passages. As the passages The cave survey remained unfinished in
cave, a very rough DistoX centreline survey
approach the cliff, the nature of the cave 2015, and the 2016 expedition continued
revealed the need for a thorough survey. changes, with many small passages carry- the mapping to the northwest and east. The
The 2015 expedition quickly discovereding the flow into cracks in the floor. The eastern side of the cave opened out into a
Note: Clicking on the maps in this article will take you to a larger PDF version on the ASF website
Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 • Page 7
Windjana Gorge Exploration, Kimberley WA
EXPLORATION
vegetated valley on the plateau, and does
not seem to continue, maybe due to the
aquiclude, despite the entire plateau being
limestone. Rugged limestone towers domi-
nate the landscape to the east.
By the end of the 2016 expedition
most leads in the cave had been explored
and mapped. The complex passages could
reveal more cave, as did Fanackapan Cave
(Pryke 2016).
The 2017 expedition committed a lot of
time to surface exploration of the limestone
plateau. Extension of Fanackapan Cave
continued, with the discovery of a small
stream in the southeast of the cave, ending
in a sump. Rod OBrien naturally thought
about diving it, despite its rather small size,
and its remoteness.
A new pass from the plateau was forged
by Rod, which gave access to a series of
smaller caves. Mark and Graham set to
work mapping two small but attractive
caves near the top of the pass — Anemone
and Break Down caves. The latter included
a spectacular series of high gours.
Meanwhile, Rod, Alan and Megan tra-
versed a grike and discovered Footloose
Cave, following the alphabetical naming
scheme (Pryke 2014), a small, damp cave
with several low muddy circular chambers.
The survey ceased when the more substan-
tial Galaxy Cave was discovered nearby by
Alan, a large promising entrance which
lead to a large dead end chamber. They then
Page 8 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 
Windjana Gorge Exploration, Kimberley WA
EXPLORATION
Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 • Page 9
Windjana Gorge Exploration, Kimberley WA
traversed the plateau, discovering some
EXPLORATION
vertical pits and Here and There Cave, a
large, dry streamsink leading to a decorated
chamber, followed by small cracks.
Peter and Alan explored west of Coral
Maze through high karst towers with short
cave sections which they nicknamed The
Playground as its easy-going clear flat floors
and mazy thoroughfares made ‘hide and
seek’ inevitable. They discovered Intersec-
tion Cave in the maze, which consisted of
low crawly flat floored drains. Some survey
work was done, but not completed.
To avoid the heat whilst traversing the
plateau, the group sheltered in a series of
shaded alcoves. Some limestone rifts were
explored nearby with Megan discovering a
deep grike.
However, Alan discovered a good en-
trance opposite and two survey teams be-
gan mapping Joinery Cave, named as many
entrances were found independently, and
its connection with the alcoves mentioned
earlier. A second survey day here finished
the mapping.
On the final day of the 2017 trip, the
deep grike found by Megan was explored,
which revealed a large cave passage with
high flowstone walls. Cursory exploration
revealed limited continuation and it was
named Left Right Out Cave. One more
cave entrance was looked at by the team, a
crumbly pitch into a dirt floored chamber
left unexplored, but named Krumble Cave.
Four years of expeditions have revealed
many fantastic caves in the impressive,
forbidding landscape, with the promise of
more to come in the future.
The group would like to thank WA Parks
and Wildlife Senior Operations Manager
Dave Woods and the Broome Parks office
for issuing the necessary permit, the tradi-
tional owners — the Bunuba people — and
all the staff on the ground at Windjana,
including Henry Corpus, Erin and senior
ranger Rod O’Donnell.
PERSONNEL
2014: Megan and Alan Pryke (SUSS)
2015: Megan and Alan Pryke, Tina Will-
more (SUSS), Mark Sefton (CEGSA)
2016: Megan and Alan Pryke (SUSS), Mark
Sefton, Graham Pilkington (CEGSA),
Heiko Maurer, Claire Buswell (FUSSI)
2017: Megan and Alan Pryke, Rod OBrien
(SUSS), Mark Sefton, Graham Pilk-
ington (CEGSA), Rod OBrien, Peter
Freeman (VSA)
REFERENCES
ALAN PRYKE
Pryke, A. 2014 Windjana 2014. Caves Aus-
tralia 199: 5-7
Pryke, A. 2016 Windjana 2015. Caves Aus-
tralia 202: 17-19 Gour in Coral Maze Cave
Page 10 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 Windjana Gorge Exploration, Kimberley WA
EXPLORATION
ALAN PRYKE
Windjana: The Wall
ALAN PRYKE
ALAN PRYKE
Breakdown Cave L Cave 8
Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 • Page 11Windjana Gorge Exploration, Kimberley WA
EXPLORATION
Page 12 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 CAVE SCIENCE
eDNA Sampling Expedition to
Christmas Island, 2018
Brett Wiltshire
WASG
WEIDI KOH
Drone panorama of Dolly Beach, Christmas Island
I N 2018 WASG assisted with the zone. These large creatures can even explore further before the sampling work
sampling of subterranean waters on cling upside down on the cave roof and was done to prevent cross-contamination
Christmas Island for a PhD thesis involv- it is daunting to see claws that can shred of DNA between caves.
ing analysis of environmental DNA. coconuts right next to a tight squeeze that The water samples were carried out of
Christmas Island is usually known by must be passed. the caves and filtered each day to extract
the public from the media for the immi- When meeting a robber crab in a tight the traces of DNA shed by organisms
gration detention centre or the spectacu- space, a slow and confident crawl for- for later analysis back in Perth. Unfortu-
lar annual red crab migration but it also wards will make them back away slowly. nately, not every cave goes down to water,
has some great caves and is an interesting Getting too close to a robber crab results so we did some exploration to locate new
place to visit. in a rapid swat with a hind leg. Luckily, caves and springs.
The first WASG expedition was in they never seem to use their claws on One of the easiest caves to find on
1987, during which 53 caves or features people. the island is CI-001 The Grotto, which
were recorded (Webb 1987). By the They do advance if one lies still for too is signposted from the road. CI-001 is a
time of our visit, 140 numbered caves long though (such as when deciding ‘Will beautiful clear blue pool of water under a
or features had been recorded and this I fit through there?’) and the exploration karstic overhang.
expedition added eight entries, three of one cave was halted because of this. It is a mixture of fresh water from a
being caves, two rock shelters and three Our main challenge was to find caves stream and seawater from a small blow-
dolines. with water and resist the urge to swim or hole entrance to the ocean at water level.
Our group stayed at The Pink House, The blowhole sends thunderous bursts of
a research centre run by Parks Australia. spray over the water pool at unexpected
The Pink House has reptile breeding en- times, as the ocean is not visible from the
closures and was also being used by other pool.
researchers studying flying foxes and rats We also searched in areas that had
at the time of our visit. been used for phosphate mining in the
The main source of evening entertain- past. The historic mining areas appear
ment was watching the local robber crab to be areas of tower karst with shallow
(Birgus latro) community; about thirty excavations in every low-lying area.
The regrowth is a low, thick covering
ROD AND SUE HAMILTON
of these large creatures live around the
Pink House and stage little battles with of grass and fishtail ferns that cover many
each other in the afternoons and cluster little ground depressions that look like
around the doors at dinnertime. they could all be cave entrances from a
The robber crabs are also a significant distance, but we had no success in these
feature of the caves and we found them areas.
in most caves and often far into the dark Robber crab warning sign The expedition had better luck search-
Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 • Page 13eDNA Sampling Expedition to Christmas Island, 2018
CAVE SCIENCE
DANNY WILKINSON
Large chamber decoration
WEIDI KOH
Christmas Island coastline
ing some of the steep valleys leading into YouTube video https://www.youtube. the Japanese invasion in World War II
the ocean. A few caves and rock shelters com/watch?v=f6bF7aDES8Q (Meek 2001), has power cable and water
were found in these. About 200 rungs of permanent steel pipe running though the cave and an
Fortunately, the island has many ladder leads visitors down to a scenic improvised shower.
springs and sampling these helped to swimming passage at the bottom of Others, such as CI-005 Jedda Cave
make up for time spent exploring caves the cave. Apart from the odd stalactite and CI-011 Grants Well have entrances
that did not reach water level. spray painted pink (presumably done for that have been developed for the island’s
The best-known cave on the navigation purposes?) the cave seems to water supply.
island is CI-003 Daniel Roux Cave. be in surprisingly good condition — the The most significant ‘new’ cave of the
Faded signs at the entry indicate the deeper parts at least. trip was described to us by the Parks staff.
cave is closed to public access but there Some of the more accessible caves In dense, swampy, mosquito-ridden jun-
is no barrier to entry and the main parts contain a surprising amount of infra- gle in the middle of the island there is a
of the upper section of the cave can be structure. CI-002 Runaway Cave, appar- recent collapse exposing a deep solution
seen online on Australian Geographic’s ently named as it was used to hide from pipe with mud and tree roots creating a
Page 14 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 eDNA Sampling Expedition to Christmas Island, 2018
CAVE SCIENCE
DANNY WILKINSON
WEIDI KOH
Sea cave entrance CI-003 Daniel Roux cave upper section swiftlet guano pile
ROD AND SUE HAMILTON
ROD HAMILTON
Robber crab meeting Curious robber crab in CI-010 Freshwater Cave
2 m wide hole above a 36 m deep vertical is the mud stalagmites. Mud and drips encountered some setbacks in trying to
pipe. of water oozing through rock at the reach these by land, as they are separated
The entrance had been amusingly upstream extent of the cave create tow- by jungle and thickets of spiky Pandanus
signposted ‘Free WiFi’ on our arrival ers of the same shape and dimensions as that overhang vertical cliffs.
but the bottom of the pitch had not been clusters of stalagmites. All photographic The cliffs are made of very fragile
reached. We entered the muddy pipe very equipment was inoperable by this point eroded limestone and are undercut by the
cautiously, as a recent visit to a nearby so these features remain unrecorded. sea below. An SRT attempt would likely
cave had been stopped because of bad air. Most of the known caves are sea level involve about 10 m of carpet for rope
Surprisingly, this was not the case with entrances and contain little mud; there protection and being prepared to swim
the new cave and 250 m+ of gloriously are many passages with great expanses in a harness upon reaching the sea. There
muddy streamway was mapped (CI-141 of warm, crystal clear water and great are some very photogenic sandy beaches
Wifi Cave). calcite formations. but the majority of the coastline is cliff
The cave contains some interesting While the sea cave entrances are and reaching the sea caves is far easier by
fossilised corals but the main highlight often geographically close to a road, we boat.
Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 • Page 15eDNA Sampling Expedition to Christmas Island, 2018
CAVE SCIENCE
DANNY WILKINSON
Expansive phreatic tidal chamber in CI-020
Finding a boat operator willing to fit A dive line set deep into calcite forma- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
a caving trip into their schedule also had tion leads the way through the cave to a Thanks to PhD candidate Katrina West
its difficulties. rusty shovel abandoned at a muddy dig for applying for the necessary permits and
For our visit to CI-020 Full Frontal at the farthest point. Our exit from the for assistance from Curtin University, Parks
Cave, we were given ten minutes to swim cave was more difficult because of the ris- Australia and the exploration efforts of ex-
to the cliff line from the boat and confirm ing tide and swell (we were sure to be on pedition members Rob Susac, Weidi Koh,
that we were happy to be left for the after- time, though). Danny Wilkinson, Rod and Sue Hamilton,
noon. We were told if we were not out by It was comforting to see that parts of John Clarke, Ross and Jay Anderson and
the agreed time, the boat would not wait CI-020 do not submerge with the tide but Anne Wood.
and the coastguard would be called. other tidal caves we visited during the
The CI-020 entrance is narrow and expedition ad extensive areas of maze- REFERENCES
jagged and the swell makes disturbing like passages that do apparently tidally Webb. R. 1987 President’s Report. The
growling noises as it pushes and pulls one submerge. While these were some of the Western Caver, 27: 4
through. Once inside, much of the cave most entertaining caves we visited, risk Meek, P. D. 2001 The History of Christmas
is a pleasant swim through quite a large assessment of the forecast tide and swell Island and the Management of its Karst
passage. is worth taking seriously. Features. Helictite, 37(2): 31-36
Page 16 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 EXPLORATION
Beyond the Sump Expedition 2018
Return to the Cueva de la Peña Colorada
Andreas Klocker with input from Adam Haydock, Alejandra Mendoza, Chris Jewell,
Gilly Elor, Matt Vinzant, Teddy Garlock and Zeb Lilly
BACKGROUND
Sistema Huautla, located in the Mexican
state of Oaxaca, is one of the world’s most
spectacular deep caves.
It is currently 1560 m deep and about
85 km long. It has over 20 entrances, all of
which collect large amounts of rainwater
during the wet season. The most down-
stream part of this cave system is a huge
sump — a sump being a fully submerged
part of the cave which can only be explored
with dive gear — known as Sump 9 or ‘The
Mother of all Sumps’ that had been discov-
ered on an expedition led by Bill Stone in
1994 (Stone and am Ende 1995; Stone et al.
2002).
It was only in 2013 that cavers returned
to Sump 9 on a British expedition organ-
ised by Chris Jewell. On that trip Jason
Mallinson and Chris Jewell pushed Sump
9 to a depth of 81 m at 440 m penetration,
with the underwater tunnel barrelling off to While both these expeditions sig- requiring the team to transport all camping
greater depths (Jewell 2013). nificantly increased the length of this cave, gear through these sumps, until they were
One of the great mysteries of Sistema finding some of the most spectacular cave finally stopped by Sump 7.
Huautla is its connection to the active passages in this region, due to the complex Sump 7 started just beyond Camp 2 at
resurgence in the Santo Domingo canyon nature of this cave the main way on, follow- the bottom of a 55 m vertical drop, with no
some 10 km away. This resurgence has ing the underwater continuation towards place at water level where the cave explor-
been confirmed by dye trace and has been Sistema Huautla remained elusive (Klocker ers could put on their dive gear. Hence, they
the subject of several expeditions, each of 2017, 2018). As a consequence, the objec- had to descend this vertical drop with dive
which has increased the known length of tives for the 2018 expedition focused on the gear attached to them.
the cave and reduced the gap from the end Cueva de la Peña Colorada, which is hy- Nevertheless, after an epic effort to get
of the line in Sistema Huautla’s Sump 9. pothesised to be the overflow resurgence to into the sump, the team finally managed
In 2001, Brits Jason Mallinson and Rick Sistema Huautla and hence could provide a several exploration dives. The sump quickly
Stanton explored and surveyed the under- short cut connecting into Sistema Huautla reached a depth of over 50 m, but due to
water resurgence for just over one kilome- between the known upstream system and the divers using air rather than gas mixes
tre to an air bell where a passage was seen its resurgence. including helium which is commonly used
heading off 10 m above water level, but the for modern day deep diving, and due to the
upstream continuation of the underwater THE 1984 PEÑA COLORADA amount of tanks necessary to dive at such
river remained a mystery (Shade and Stone EXPEDITION depths on open circuit, these cave explorers
2002). Thirty-four years ago, in 1984, a team of quickly hit their logistical limits and were
In 2016, Andreas Klocker and Zeb Lilly cave explorers led by Dr. Bill Stone of the forced to return.
started Beyond the Sump Expeditions with US Deep Caving Team explored a remote The divers reported a large passage
the goal of continuing Bill Stone’s efforts resurgence cave in the Mexican state of continuing north underwater, leading them
to connect Sistema Huautla with its resur- Oaxaca, known as the Cueva de la Peña to believe that this cave might connect to
gence. In both 2016 and 2017, the main Colorada (Stone 1984). Over three months, Sistema Huautla. Since then the hypothesis
goal of the expedition was to continue the team successfully explored roughly 5 had been that the Cueva de la Peña Colo-
exploration in the Huautla Resurgence, and km into the mountain, requiring them to rada is an overflow resurgence to Sistema
find the way on from where Jason Mallin- tackle several sumps and establish the first Huautla which is only active during the wet
son got to in 2001. ever subterranean camps beyond sumps, season. Nevertheless, this hypothesis had
Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 • Page 17Beyond the Sump Expedition 2018: Return to the Cueva de la Peña Colorada
EXPLORATION
never been proven using dye tracing. The elusive underground river between Sistema transport the eight tonnes of provisions,
hope for 2018 was that, after not finding Huautla and its resurgence. camping, caving, and diving gear down
the way on underwater in the Huautla Re- The 1984 expedition was an immense into the Peña Colorada canyon. Using the
surgence in 2016 and 2017, the Cueva de la logistical challenge. Two hundred Maza- team’s supply of 72 light-weight composite
Peña Colorada might be a short cut into the tecs were hired, along with 65 burros to dive tanks, two divers finally reached Sump
Page 18 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 Beyond the Sump Expedition 2018: Return to the Cueva de la Peña Colorada
EXPLORATION
A schematic showing the main underwater leads which are thought to connect Sistem Huautla with its resurgence.
The left inset shows Sistema Huautla reduced to the quickest way to reach Sump 9 from the surface via the Fools Day extension in San Agustin.
The right inset shows both Sump 7 in the Cueva de la Peña Colorado and the Huautla Resurgence.
7 with only five tanks, since all other tanks more than a week underground — defi- Huautla, and Fernando Hernandez, a Mexi-
were needed to get everyone through the nitely a very rare species of cave explorer. can doing his PhD in the US.
first six sumps to Camp 2, the second sub- The need for a large team of support divers The members of the team included:
terranean camp located just above Sump 7. with cave diving experience is unique to Adam Haydock (USA), Adam Walker
It was clear to Bill Stone that new tech- this particular cave, since not many caves (CAN), Alejandra Mendoza (MEX),
nology was needed to overcome these lo- have passages beyond sumps as extensive as Andreas Klocker (AUS/AUT), Andrew
gistical challenges to explore further, and it the Cueva de la Peña Colorada and many Atkinson (UK), Charlie Roberson (USA),
was after this trip that he started to develop other caves can make use of a large team of Chris Jewell (UK), Connor Roe (UK),
the now famous CIS-Lunar rebreather. dry cavers to help support the dive team. Dane Motty (USA), Dave Watts (UK), Fer-
Rebreathers are complex pieces of dive kit 2) Push divers, who in addition to the nando Hernandez (MEX), Gareth Davies
(at that time only available to the military) requirements of the support divers, are (UK), Gilly Elor (ISR/USA), Jim Warny
which recycle only the oxygen metabolised capable of doing long and deep exploration (IRE), Josh Brackley (UK), Matt Jenkinson
by the diver and extract the CO2. They are dives. Survey data shows that Sump 7 in the (UK), Katie Graham (CAN), Kyle Moschell
thus much more efficient than the open cir- Cueva de la Peña Colorada and Sump 9 in (USA), Laura Trowbridge (UK), Matt Vinz-
cuit dive gear used on the 1984 expedition. Sistema Huautla are at the same vertical ant (USA), Maxwell Fisher (UK), Michael
Nevertheless, Bill Stone never returned level within survey errors, pointing towards Waterworth (UK), Mirek Kopertowski
to the Peña Colorada, and, until 2018, 34 the possibility of Sump 7 being very long (POL), Teddy Garlock (USA), Tomasz
years later, no other team stood up to the and deep. Kochanowicz (POL), and Zeb Lilly (USA).
immense challenge of exploring this re- 3) People who can support the team on the
mote sump. Now, in 2018, the plan was to surface, with both local politics, the rela- DIVE GEAR
return to Sump 7 and continue exploration tionship with locals,and translating. From old trip reports of the 1984 expe-
towards Sistema Huautla. Luckily, the full crew of the 2017 expedi- dition and several conversations Zeb and
tion to the Huautla Resurgence returned Andreas had with Bill Stone, it was clear
ASSEMBLING THE TEAM in 2018, meaning several people on the that just organising all the gear needed for
One of the big challenges of cave explo- trip with previous experience of caving in a serious dive attempt in Sump 7 would be
ration in a cave such as the Cueva de la Peña this region could add to the trip. In addi- an epic challenge. During the 1984 expedi-
Colorada is to put together a team with the tion, a large group of cavers from the UK tion the reason for the team to retreat was
right skill set to push a remote sump, such and Ireland came along, most of whom are that they hit the logistical limits of the dive
as Sump 7. In particular, for such a cave, a part of the UK’s Cave Diving Group (CDG) gear available at the time, and to be suc-
large team of support divers was necessary and have extensive experience in working cessful, this expedition needed to overcome
to put a very small team of exploration div- beyond sumps. From the other side of the the challenges which stopped the 1984
ers into the final sump. This team would Atlantic, several cave divers from Florida expedition.
need to be made up of: joined; they were very experienced in div- The biggest change to the dive gear from
1) Support divers who have extensive expe- ing Florida’s long, deep springs, but quite 1984 was the use of rebreathers, which
rience in both dry caving and cave diving. new to dry caving techniques. This team would allow for long and deep exploration
They had to be able to deal with techniques was topped off by several strong cavers dives without the need for an unrealistically
used to ascend and descend ropes on verti- from Canada and Poland. As in previous large amount of diving cylinders. These
cal drops in dry parts of the cave, have plen- years, this expedition could not have hap- rebreathers needed to be lightweight and
ty of endurance to keep hauling gear down pened with the help of Alejandra Mendoza, easy to repair with few tools far into the
a 700 m deep canyon, 5 km into a cave, on who dealt with local politics and the locals cave. While some of the support divers
trips which would sometimes would last for us, assisted by Alma, a schoolteacher in used open-circuit dive gear, most divers on
Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 • Page 19Beyond the Sump Expedition 2018: Return to the Cueva de la Peña Colorada
LOCAL POLITICS
by Alejandra Mendoza
EXPLORATION
The first time Andreas and Alex arrived
at Loma Grande, the agent of the village,
Rafael Carrera, agreed with the expedition.
He would allow the divers to explore the
Peña Colorada and offered them a place to
stay in his house, with the only condition
being to get written permission from the
municipal president of Mazatlán Villa de
Flores, Misael Martínez.
Misael Martínez is a young man with an
open mind, a quality hard to find in small
ADAM HAYDOCK
Mexican villages. President Misael agreed
with the expedition as well, but he needed
a reunion to communicate it to the other
Some of the team relaxing at Camp 1 members of the cabinet. Unfortunately,
this trip used small side-mounted or chest- support divers. Over a few days they did many of them did not agree with the project
mounted rebreathers, either some of the several practice dives in Florida’s amazing and on purpose caused a delay in the writ-
cutting-edge rebreathers produced by the springs and prepared over 70 4-litre Nal- ing of the permission.
company KISS Rebreathers, or home-built gene bottles with cave food to be used in A spontaneous trip to Oaxaca City,
units such as are common with the CDG the two underground camps for the large about 7 hours away, was made to hurry
in the UK. All of these had in common expedition team on the way to Sump 7. the president. He had to call Mazatlán to
that they were manual rebreathers, mak- Two days after leaving Florida, Andreas, demand the realisation of the document for
ing them much easier to repair in remote Zeb and Gilly arrived at the Mexican border, Andreas and Alex to receive it as soon as
situations since they do not rely on complex a bit later than planned due to a minor me- possible. But secretary Celso Vaquero and
electronics. chanical hiccup when the fuel pump of the education alderman Artemio de la Cruz
Similar to the 1984 expedition, com- van, the second expedition vehicle (known disobeyed Misael and never produced the
posite tanks were used which are very as the ‘Soccer Mum Special’), failed. paperwork.
lightweight, but on the downside need At the border they met Alejandra ‘Alex’ When the first group of divers arrived,
much weight to sink when diving. The big Mendoza who helped with the border the team had not received the document.
advantage of these tanks was that only the formalities, since none of the others spoke Alex had to return to Mexico City, leaving
tanks needed to come out of the cave to fluent Spanish. After the border crossing the team alone, but luckily one day after
refill while the lead weights could stay in the next stop was Monterrey where Zeb and the group of divers arrived Misael sent the
the cave. Gilly flew back to the US to work in their permission and the divers started to carry
And while the tanks used to get to Sump day jobs for a few more weeks before join- all the equipment into the cave.
7 were all filled with air or Nitrox, the tanks ing the expedition while Alex, Alexander Around two weeks later, a group of na-
used in Sump 7 were filled with Trimix, i.e. Buess (a German cave diver living in Mexi- tive people arrived at Rafael’s house with
gas mixes including helium, for divers to be co) and Andreas continued driving the two sticks and machetes, arguing that the for-
able to maintain a clear head when diving at vehicles south.After a couple hours out of eigners were there to kidnap their children,
50 m depth and beyond. Monterrey the head gasket of the van sud- to take possession of their land and steal
To facilitate gearing up for Sump 7 and denly decided that it needed replacement. the gold inside the cave. Alex had to return
to avoid having to climb up a 55 m vertical After a stressful evening finding a towtruck, to Loma Grande to try to fix this tension
drop above the sump after a big dive, a plat- a mechanic, and the next morning a rental between the locals and the team, but these
form was used, similar to the portaledges car big enough to carry all the dive gear we issues turned bigger and bigger.
climbers use to sleep on big walls. In case had in the van, the team was finally on the Furthermore, some misunderstandings
Sump 7 turned out to be very long and/or road again. between the locals over their heritage in
deep, lithium-powered scooters and a de- Annoyingly, though, Zeb would now Loma Grande, with the locals believing that
compression habitat were kept in the field have to pick up the van on his trip down white people are very rich and would give
house, ready to go into the cave. south. Nevertheless, after two days of driv- Rafael lots of money, making these locals
ing, the team finally made it to Huautla. very jealous. They started a coup leading
TRAVEL But the car trouble was not over and to a new agent taking over, who took the
The trip started when Zeb, who lives in upon entering Huautla in the F350 one agency and acted like authority in some of-
Virginia, after months of preparing gear at of the intercooler hoses popped off and a ficial events that took place. Rafael’s family
his place, finally started the drive in his long brake line developed a leak. While Andreas ended up being isolated from the rest of the
wheelbase Ford F350 full of gear towards could reattach the hose with Zeb’s instruc- town.
Florida. At a similar time Andreas left his tions, the brake line needed to be ordered As president, Misael must travel to Oax-
home in Hobart, Australia, to fly into Jack- by the local mechanic, which left the team aca City once or twice a week, in addition
sonville where Zeb picked him up from the without a functioning vehicle since the to the visits to the agencies conforming the
airport. rental car had to return with Alex Buess the municipality, so each time the team went to
In Florida they met up with Matt Vinz- next day. Luckily, Alma could organise an Mazatlán, the president was not there, and
ant, a highly experienced Florida cave diver empty classroom in Huautla where the gear the secretary was very disagreeable with
who was going to join the expedition as could be stored until the vehicle issues were Rafael, blaming him for all the things gone
exploration diver, and Gilly Elor, one of the sorted. wrong. It was a communication issue with
Page 20 • Caves Australia No. 208 • June 2019 Beyond the Sump Expedition 2018: Return to the Cueva de la Peña Colorada
people in the town, because he never did a
EXPLORATION
reunion to inform others about the foreign-
ers’ plans. As natives were very introverted,
they never joined activities in town and
nobody attended the local meetings, which
is why Rafael decided not to hold any meet-
ings.
Secretary Celso promised to go to Loma
Grande to calm down the people, but he
never arrived. As Alex had to return to
Mexico City again, Fernando, who was
there doing hydrological studies, could stay
longer to try to get an agreement between ADAM HAYDOCK
locals and foreigners, but that did not hap-
pen and the locals gave the foreigners just
a couple of days to get out with all their
equipment. Since Fernando moved to Andreas Klocker sorting gear at Sump 1
Huautla leaving the team without a native ing large amounts of gear towards Sump 7. carry all the gear over a huge pile of large
Spanish speaker, the atmosphere in the To access the cave, it was first neces- boulders before reaching Sump 3.
team turned delicate and stressful. sary to descend 700 vertical metres down While the cave map showed that this
Finally, after a couple of days, President the Peña Colorada canyon with all of the sump should be relatively straightforward,
Misael arrived at Loma Grande with all the gear, transport the gear 5 km into the cave with visibility quite a lot worse than an-
authorities and a lot of police. He talked through five sumps (Sump 1 could be by- ticipated from old reports, two dives were
with the people and ordered them to leave passed via the canyon entrance to the Peña needed to reline this sump. The next day
the divers alone so they could finish their Colorada found by Bill Stone) to Camp 2, Chris and Connor returned and managed
exploration. just above Sump 7. The hike from the field to find the way on. On the far side of the
house in Loma Grande took about two sump they had to climb about 15 m up a
SETTING UP THE CAVE hours once the trail became familiar, and steep climb and rig a rope so that the team
After a fortnight of time spent driving for about two thirds of the descent down following could safely get up this vertical
and dealing with politics, the first large the canyon it was possible to use horses drop, hauling large amounts of gear.
group of cavers, mainly Brits at this stage, owned by locals to carry most of the load. Chris, Connor and several others then
arrived in Huautla via bus from Mexico This canyon trip, steep and with ex- continued on with the plan to establish
City. treme heat, was probably one of the main Camp 1. Unfortunately they were stopped
Since the written permission to access challenges for most expedition members. by surprisingly high water levels, which
the cave was a bit late, a day was spent in On top of that, it was known from previous turned the Grand Lagoon — which in 1984
Huautla shopping and fixing the rear win- expeditioners that the canyon is home to was a swim with sufficient air space — into
dow of the truck, which did not survive the many poisonous snakes, in particular the a short dive. Since it was late in the day, they
long trip through Mexico. aggressive and deadly pit viper and so most decided to create a temporary camp before
The next day, with the permission in hiking was done during daytime. the lagoon.
hand, the team moved into the accommo- It was time to get gear into the cave and On the next trip Welshman Gareth
dation in Loma Grande, unloaded all the through the sumps. Both Connor Roe and Davies, Brit Andrew Atkinson, Connor
gear from the trucks and stored it in the Andreas started relining the sumps for the and Andreas entered the cave and pushed
very limited space available to us in one others to follow. Luckily, Sump 2 was very through the Grand Lagoon to establish
small building. short — just too long to dive it holding Camp 1 on its other side. The day after
Soon after, they were ready to start mov- your breath — and then it was necessary to establishing Camp 1 everyone helped carry
Andreas’ dive gear, including his rebreather,
to Sump 4 where he then started to reline
Sumps 4 and 5, which were separated by
a short lake. Surprisingly, on this dive he
found enough remnant pieces of dive line
from the 1984 expedition which acted as
breadcrumbs to find his way through this
complex sump in one go.
After relining, Andrew and Andreas
continued through Sumps 4 and 5, shut-
tling large amounts of gear with the goal of
establishing Camp 2. This turned out to be
a very long day, and since Andrew and An-
dreas became increasingly tired they tried
to find a temporary camp spot on the way
to Camp 2.
DAVE WATTS
But the cave passage to Camp 2 was
either wet, had loud waterfalls close by or
Dry tubes loaded for the trip down the canyon was unsuitable for a camp in some other
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