the Underground River (monkeys, giant lizards, and bats)
Patty, Andy and Spence on the beach before we went bush.
[29/1/06] On Sunday 29th, all six of us set off for the Underground River, a few hour’s walk from Sabang. The river flows through a massive cave network out to the sea. It’s the longest coastal cave network in the world.
To get to the Underground River we walked to the end of the beach at Sabang, and then along a jungle path (at the start of the path was a sign stating that unless you had a permit you would not be allowed to enter Underground River Natural Park. We figured that we could bluff our way in. We were wrong as half an hour later, we were stopped at the ranger’s station and could go no further without permits. So Spence and I ran to Sabang and back to get permits for everyone…).
Monkeys and monitor lizards on the trail to the Underground River. The monitor lizards were big - about 1.5 metres long.
Once we reached the Underground River we donned lifejackets and helmets, and hopped in an outrigger canoe that was paddled by our official guide. You can go up to 4 kilometres into the caves (if you pay for it). We went the standard 1.2 kilometres. It’s pitch black inside, so we had a powerful spotlight to illuminate our way. There were all sorts of interesting stalactite and stalacmite formations in the caves, as well as huge bat colonies. Monkeys, giant lizards and bats. Pretty damn cool.
