The physical and mental challenges of exploring caves address our deep rooted desire to venture into the unknown. Caving or cave exploring involves moving through a cave or a cave system, exploring the surroundings while protecting the natural environment of the cave.
Many of our caves in South Africa are formed as acidic groundwater or underwater river dissolve away the limestone and leave cavities that range from a few metres to many kilometres in length and depth. A limestone cave…
The physical and mental challenges of exploring caves address our deep rooted desire to venture into the unknown. Caving or cave exploring involves moving through a cave or a cave system, exploring the surroundings while protecting the natural environment of the cave.
Many of our caves in South Africa are formed as acidic groundwater or underwater river dissolve away the limestone and leave cavities that range from a few metres to many kilometres in length and depth. A limestone cave takes millions of years to form, making a visit to the Cango Caves in the Little Karoo, Sudwala Caves in Mpumalanga or any of South Africa’s incredible caves a fascinating adventure back to the time of the dinosaurs.
On your journey, you will encounter amazing structures – known collectively to geologists as speleothem, but that we mere adventurers will identify as stalagmites and stalactites – so don your headlight and discover!
Our ancestors used caves as homes and archaeologists have made incredible finds in limestone caves. Today, caves are the home of bats and other shy creatures. A visit to the granite caves of Gobholo in Swaziland or the Bat Cave in Gauteng is a climbing, crawling, slithering adventure where your headlights will encounter the inhabitants of these dark places.
A cave is a sensitive environment so while you are getting those boots dirty and ticking off one of South Africa’s great adventures on your bucket list, remember to follow the basic rules of cave exploring:
* Take nothing but pictures
* Leave nothing but footprints
* Kill nothing but time
South Africa is blessed with caving activities – contact our caving operators around the country and enjoy a visit to one of our last frontiers.
Our recommended caving operators in South Africa:
Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn, Little Karoo
Kestell Adventures in Sabie, Mpumalanga
Sudwala Caves near Nelspruit, Mpumalanga
Swazi Trails in Swaziland
Wild Cave Adventures in Gauteng
