hellocloud photography by Ken Lönnström » waitomo caves

The dream in which you are all invited

Ken — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:12:00 +0000

A mere rope. While I was hanging there 100 m from the ground the time stopped. It was like I had stepped into the old world. Without men. Without technology. Without all the pressure and all the achievements we believe we so surely need. In this place, there was the beginning. The ending, nowhere to be seen. This sacred place is hidden away from development and society. It is a place of nature that just is and that does not care. That doesn’t even have to.

In the modern life nothing like this really exists. We are all too busy, living our lives and just keep going forward. Trying to live in the modern society where we keep pushing ourselves further and further, sometimes even without a thought. We live in a world with pressure. Either from our families, friends, a partner or even from ourselves. We are so used to having people around us all the time or being able to see them. Remember our old friend, the television. Which help our daily life go forward. Or at least, the time.

And in this life more or less all of us lives, it is quite hard to comprehend really what an amazing place this is. A hidden treasure, even more valuable than the Eiffeltower or any other creation of men. It really is the most beautiful, romantic, intriguing and poetic place I’ve ever been to. And in my mind, will ever visit. I am so sorry that all I have is memories from this place but what I do have is the power to tell others about it.

Mentally close your eyes, stop listening to the noises around you and concentrate on the sound of falling rain on leaves. Imagine it is all around you. Can you hear the sound of falling rain on leaves surrounding you? If not, try harder and think that you are sitting on a porch belonging to a house you know or have known. You are doing nothing except listening on the constant rain falling from the sky.

When you can hear the sound, concentrate on your hands. Your left hand in front of your stomach, resting on a piece of metal and the other holding a rope down at your bum. You don’t have to hold tight, just feel the rope. If you wanted to you could let go of the metal piece in your left hand, but hold it for now. Can you feel it? Can you feel the texture of the thin but strong rope in your right hand?

Good. And you can still hear the sound of falling rain? Brilliant. Keep those thoughts and then think of being in water. Try and stand upright and feel how weightless you are. You are bobbing up and down like a bait, not unlike from when you and your father or grandfather were fishing. Now stop bobbing and feel how you are just hanging free in midair. Your feet are loose, your toes point downward. They and you are far away from steady ground. You are safe, don’t you worry. Just think of the sound of rain, feel the rope in your hand and be excited about just hanging free. Being free.

Open your eyes. Look and see where you are. Getting a few rain drops on your face as you look up. You are in the lost world, hanging from a rope 100 m from the ground. All around you there are tall straight walls filled with green plants decorated by big leaves. Everything looks so pretty. Ancient. There is an old river that have formed this huge passage where you now are hanging. From the bottom you hear the water, still crashing after several million years. You try to look but cannot see the bottom. There is a thick mist underneath you. As you gaze up you see every rain drop falling, you can even see them in slow motion and study them in amazement. You have never before experienced anything like this. It’s so quiet apart from the soothing sounds from the rain falling on the leaves from all around and the stream underneath you.

A long time after you began descending, you cannot longer see the sky. It seems to you it’s the mist that have moved but in fact it is you. At this stage you can see the bottom, the stream which keeps digging and which will continue an eternity after you or me have passed away. Truth to be told, you don’t want to touch the ground again. Just being here, feeling so alive and pure, even free. What can be better than this?

Haggas Honking Holes

Ken — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:11:00 +0000

We had not expected this. Not at all. It was like Christmas had came a year early. Just too good to be true. Exciting. Adrenaline. Rushing water. Crawling in caves. Jumping of edges, hanging from nothing but a rope. And then darkness. Not the suppressing, depressing darkness. No, this was something completely different. Way different. Please understand this. No matter how much details I’ll tell you, you will never ever fully understand how awesome this day and its adventures were. Not unless you do them yourself.

Few days earlier we had booked the so-called ‘Lost Adventure – Epic 7 hours’ through a company called Waitomo Adventures (yeah free publicity has never hurt anyone). It was quite expensive but we surely wanted to do this one, also it was my birthday present to Jenny, only one day to early. Yes she turned 25 on the 2nd of September, but that has nothing to do with the real story. The real story is what happened down in the caves.

Because of the heavy rain from the last few days we were unable to do the 7 hours tour but were compensated with two others called ‘Haggas Honking Holes’, an action filled one and then with ‘The Lost World 4 hours’ which included a 100 m abseiling. Also we would receive a free CD with a couple of pictures from the day. That is what I call great service!

Jimmy and Dean were our assigned instructors who would lead the eight of us 80 m down in ‘Haggas Honking Holes’ and then back again. If everything worked out as planned. From the adventure centre we jumped into a van and then drove for 15 minutes through, you guessed it, curvy roads and farms. In New Zealand it works like this. If you own the land, then you own everything underneath as well. The name ‘Haggas’ comes from the family who have owned the farm for a very long time. What happens is that Waitomo Adventures leases the cave from the Haggas, who in return get profit from just owning the cave. Pretty neat, ey?

Close to the cave they have put up modern facilities where they keep showers, dressing rooms but also all the equipment needed for us. Wet suits, helmets with headlamps and gumboots. Everything one need for an adventure. And also the harness that keeps you alive. When we were fully equipped we went to their practice area where the word “rack” was given a new meaning. We were told that if Jimmy said “nice rack” to any of the females, he probably didn’t mean the equipment on the harness. Rack does mean boobs, but in this case it is the metal gadget in which you put the rope through. It will help you control the speed of which you travel down.

At long last we entered the cave. As we climbed down the first ladder, one by one, we all said farewell to daylight and embraced the darkness. It was nothing as we had expected. It was far, far better than beyond all imagining! The first few turns were easy. The cave was beautiful. Made by nature. I was so far away in my thoughts the whole time but at the same time present cause I didn’t want to miss anything. And I was not allowed to bring my camera.

One by one, I watched the others in our fellowship descend down this waterfall with their feet on the wall of the cave with a rope through the rack. The descent was also controlled by Dean, the instructor. I was the last one to descend and I felt very secure. Jumped off the edge, turned 180 degrees in the air and put my feet on the wall I had just jumped from and from which water ran down.

Halfway down, the full impact of the waterfall came down on me. I am unsure of how far down it was, but wow, that was fun. When I reached the bottom and stood on my feet once again I had the waterfall just over me, exploding on my helmet and I ran (or so) to a safe corner where I found the others. Of course after I had loosened the rope. A few minutes later we heard Dean and he ran down the waterfall with his face first and with his body horizontal. He was no rookie. At the very last instant he put his feet in the direction they should be and slowed down using the rack, coming to a complete stand still at the bottom. Oh yes, he got style.

And on and on the story goes… Everything was just amazing and I could fill several pages about ‘Haggas Honking Holes’, how we came down to the depth of 80 m, climbed up on a wall at least 10 m high or when the whole team was squashed into one corner after a 10 m descent, waiting for our instructors with the water splashing over us. I could tell you how beautiful the cave was with all the stalactites and stalagmites, also what the difference is and how long it takes for them to “grow”. (By the way, it takes 100 years for a piece the size of one of your fingertips to grow. And there were some almost as big as one of your hugs.) But I think you would be bored with all the details so I’ll skip does.

However. At first I was unaware or rather, not concentrating on the 2-4 cm thin slime hanging from the ceiling in some parts of the cave but after a while I understood what they were. Glowworms. In one part of the cave we had to crawl through a hole almost filled with water, which you can see on the pictures. After this part I came to a part of the cave where I was almost alone so I turned of my headlamp and stared at the ceiling in amazement. There where plenty of green small dots lightening up the ceiling.

Jimmy (I think) did ruin the beautiful and philosophical moment by exclaiming that the name “glowworms” were only a trick to make Australians come here so kiwis could earn money. He explained which part of the glowworms that glow. “Shiny maggot poo” was actually the words he used. Poetic, isn’t it?

We lived to see daylight again though it was not pleasant. As soon as me and Jenny saw the sunshine we wanted to turn back. I think what made us climb the last ladder was the thought of us abseiling down in another cave in just an hour or so. But that, is for the next blog entry.

‘Of course you got to take a photo, it’s a tree!’

Ken — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 09:28:00 +0000

Jenny exclaimed after we had stopped for the fourth or fifth time on our way from Cambridge where we had gotten our new haircuts on a very short notice. My love was not irritated with me, it was more of a fact and the funny thing about it is that it’s true. I love trees. I have thought about that earlier but in this moment it was quite clear. I love trees and I love silhouettes of trees. I love using trees to frame a landscape or a person. I love them so much so compare to me you hate them! Sorry, Madagascar and Kancoona joke.

We were travelling to Waitomo Caves, which is said to be one of the things you got to do when you are in New Zealand. Approximately 20 km before we came to Waitomo this soon-to-be-dark evening we arrived in a place called Otorohanga. It was like a sign. It even was a sign. A camping sign. We followed it and came to Otorohangas Holiday park. Just as we entered this small camping property the host, Peter, came out although he and his wife were having dinner. He greeted us with an infectious smile. We talked for a few minutes and then we let him go back to supper.

When we had established ourselves and our campervan Bamse we went over to their home and even spent an hour or little more there. Had such a lovely time that we didn’t really want to leave but good manners are deeply rooted in both me and Jenny. Peter and his wife Linda are very beautiful and lovely people. Both of them are filled with a life force that is not common. I showed them some of my photographs and they both enjoyed them which meant a lot to me, considering that Peter also have worked as a professional photographer.

Waitomo caves. Wow.

Being in a washer machine

Ken — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:43:29 +0000

That’s how it felt like. Honestly. You’ll only get one picture tonight from the adventure we experienced yesterday but I’ll upload more tomorrow. Today we have been busy wandering around Hobbiton, walked into Bag End and had a great time. And tomorrow… we are going to Waitomo Caves. A new day, another adventure. Fingers crossed we survive!