Now that I've either got you interested, or you're thinking "What is he on about?", I'll reel you in.
Wellington Caves, NSW is the location of our project. The objectives are to survey, photograph and further explore the underwater extent of this unique jewel of the underworld. In 1994, eight trips were made to Wellington Caves. Most were held over two days, some three, and a list at the end of this report details the trips and the people who have been involved in the project directly.
The project was approved by the Wellington Caves Advisory Committee, and following a photographic submission to Australian Geographic and a meeting with magazine staff, sponsorship was gained which boosted the morale of all concerned.
Through the course of the year there have been many other smaller but important projects going on. Water sampling, temperature and pH measurements have been made in McCavity, Cathedral, Gaden, Big Sink and Water Caves for Julia James. Above ground, surveying has been carried out to help determine whether some of the caves could be linked together. We have been slowly cleaning out rubbish from some caves that have in the past been used as rubbish tips. And we have also rescued a possum, which we believed to have been disoriented and sick in the cave, only to find out next trip that the cave was its home (I could have sworn that the look on its face the next time it saw us was "Oh no! Not this lot again!" before it quickly disappeared).
The project has definitely been dominated by photography and diving - just ask anyone who has had to lug the camera and diving gear! The team accumulated about 100 hours underwater over the eight trips. Mark Spencer and Neil Vincent were the main photographers, working above and below the water, with additional dry photography by Rob Featonby. With each of them, and visiting photographers such as Becca Saunders, all shooting multiple rolls on each trip, the number of photos taken must be well over a thousand. Only a small percentage have met with their high standards, though, with that perfect underwater shot eluding Mark and Neil, and Rob still working on the definitive shot of a diver below the McCavity entrance.
During the many hours of caving and cave diving there has formed a very close camaraderie between the core team, as well as others who have spent time at the caves. Over the eight months many discoveries were made, some very exciting.
The discovery of an adult and two infant animals believed at first to be carnivorous marsupials holidaying from Tasmania was made on the mud floor in the wet part of McCavity. Several underwater shots taken of the remains were shown to Michael Archer, a palaeontologist at UNSW, with a report coming back that the remains could be that of three Tasmanian Tigers (Thylacinus cynophalus). After several more dives to photograph and take measurements it was found necessary to remove a small segment of jaw to have it directly identified. They are in fact the remains of three Eastern Quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus). A little bit of a letdown, but still it urged everyone on. The Eastern Quoll is rare, and possibly now extinct on the mainland.
Another experiment undertaken was the placing of a "mop trap" (thanks to Peter Horne for the idea) in the underwater section of McCavity known as the Hanging Swamp. After several months the trap was removed, and examined for fauna. The critters found were sent to Wolfgang Zeidler, Senior Curator of Marine Invertebrates at the South Australian Museum. His report was quite exciting to all:
[The trap] contained lots of ostracods - small "bivalved" crustaceans, a few cycloploid copepods (tiny planktonic crustaceans) and a couple of specimens of an isopod crustacean belonging to the Asellota [family]. All of these kinds of animals are typical of cave fauna, although they are not well studied in Australia. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all undescribed species.
With these results and Neil Vincent's sighting of a creature (possibly a syncarid) on the mud floor near the skeletal remains, further investigation of the fauna will continue in 1995.
Wellington Council provided us with accommodation during the trips at the Wellington Caves Holiday Complex, managed by Dale and Janelle Harris who have been wonderful hosts throughout the year. The assistance we have received from the guides has also been tremendous.
There were a few minor mishaps - blows from falling rocks (one which broke Mark Spencer's brand new caving helmet - serves him right for wearing it), a blow from a falling diver (luckily there was another diver behind to break the fall, otherwise he would have landed on me!), an O-ring failure on the hookah while three divers were in the cave, and Barry Pawsey's high pressure hose rupture while diving the far end of Long Tunnel (an incident he readily managed with his twin redundant rig). The most dangerous situation probably arose when someone accidentally ate one of Rob Featonby's rissoles - their battered body being reportedly found in the emu pen later that night. And 34 tourists are still undergoing trauma counselling from being terrified when three of us came out of Buggery Hole in Cathedral Cave after taking water samples.
All jokes aside, the eight trips so far have been very productive and have been a learning experience for all. I don't think we've set up the ladder into McCavity the same way twice - especially after they cut the introduced trees down. The trees were protecting the moss at the cave entrance that we had been careful not to damage, but the moss is now dying from sunstroke! A great amount of effort, planning and work has been put into the project by many people, and it has been a great experience working with everyone (if you call doing what you love work!), but now we'll see what 1995 brings. I look forward to seeing everyone again and some new faces from those poor unfortunates who haven't yet experienced a Wellington trip. Old or young, come along. The youngest on the project is aged only 10. Sean and his sister Danielle have been on four trips and will be back for more this year.
If I have missed anyone out, I apologise for doing so. Many thanks to everyone who has been involved in the project so far.
Unless otherwise indicated, all dives referred to are in McCavity, and the time underground refers to the time spent by the main party in Limekiln/McCavity.
Trip 130/4/94: 8 hours underground Dive 1: 1.5 hours. Photographic dive concentrating on wide angle shots. 1/5/94: 8 hours underground Dive 2: 1.5 hours. Photographic dive, getting close-ups of decoration and bone remains Dive 3: 1 hour. Surveying. | Trip 228/5/94: 6 hours underground Dive 4: 1.5 hours. Photographic dive, using more strobes and trying some strobe painting. 29/5/94: 6 hours underground Dive 5: 2 hours. Photographic dive, using a tripod and a long exposure. Some measurements of bone fragments were taken. |
| Trip 3
18/6/94: 7.5 hours underground. Dive 6: 1.5 hours. Surveying. 19/6/94: 7 hours underground. Dive 7: 1 hour. Surveying. Dive 8: 1 hour. Survey sketching and line laying. Dive 9: Anticline Cave. 0.5 hours. Photography in Anticline Cave and examination of the sump entrance. | Trip 4
23/7/94: 9 hours underground Dive 10: 1.5 hours. Photographic dive getting promotional shots of the Australian Geographic flag underwater. Water samples, temperature and pH measurements taken. Dive 11: 1.5 hours. Passage dimension measurements at survey stations. 24/7/94: 9 hours underground. Dive 12: 1.5 hours. Photography. Dive 13: 1 hour. Surveying. |
| Trip 5
27/8/94: 6 hours underground. Dive 14: 1.5 hours. Photography, stills, video. Dive 15: 1 hour. Video. 29/8/94: 6 hours underground. Dive 16: 1 hour. Video. | Trip 6
24/9/94: 10 hours underground. Dive 17: 1.5 hours. Photography, water sampling. Dive 18: 1 hour. Dive for CDAA divers. 25/9/94: 9 hours underground. Dive 19: 1 hour. Surveying. Dive 20: 1.5 hours. Photography. |
| Trip 7
29/10/94: 9.5 hours underground. Dive 21: 1.5 hours. Photography, water sampling. 30/10/94: 10 hours underground. Dive 22: 1.5 hours. Photography. Dive 23: 1 hour. Introductory dive. Dive 24: 1 hour. Surveying. | Trip 8
26/11/94: 5.5 hours underground. Dive 25: 1.5 hours. Photography. Dive 26: 1.5 hours. Surveying. 27/11/94: 6 hours underground. Dive 27: 1.5 hours. Photography. Dive 28: 1.5 hours. Surveying. |