Anthony Hitchcock
2006 April 09
I took a days leave and went with the family, Alan Butcher and Amy Reaper to the Table Mountain hut. Alan, Wendy and I decided to go for a walk in the afternoon. We passed through the Valley of the Red Gods and headed towards the Valley of Isolation. I suggested we leave the path and explore the rocks on the ridge overlooking the Water bailiff’s house. We found a small path and headed for the ridge. The weathered rock outcrop proved most rewarding for we soon discovered many recesses and holes to explore. Alan and I entered a small cave and explored its passages. The cave serves as a conduit for water collecting on the surface, which then flows through a narrow passage where we could see light beyond. We climbed over the top and discovered more entrances on the other side. These allow easy entrance to the next extension of the cave. I crawled along the stream passage until it became too narrow and could see faint light on the walls further along. We explored around the cliff and discovered another entrance or rather exit for it is clear that the stream flows out of it. This passage is an easy crawl way that becomes narrow towards the back and may be the other end of the passage where I had seen faint light on the walls. This cave is new to me. The good thing about this cave is that there is no graffiti or broken glass that so often is a spoiling feature of caves on Table Mountain.
We also found a narrow vertical, crevasse-like crack leading to a passage down which water flows in winter. There are forest trees visible about 10m further on, which is probably where the water emerges. The caves are not big, but the area is promising and worth further exploration.