Gobholo Caving - SWAZILAND - 18th to 21st May 2018

Hi all,

SEC will be assisting an overseas visitor on some analysis he would like to do in the Gobolo cave in Swaziland 18th to 21st May 2018.

Gobolo is an extremely interesting cave.

Info from the Swazi trails site : http://www.swazitrails.co.sz/adventure-caving/frequently-asked-questions/adventure-caving-23/

The Ghobolo Cave system is predominantly granite rock – which is VERY unusual as granite does not typically form caves. For this reason typical cave features like stalactites are rare. This flow stone is one of the few features of this type so far discovered in this cave.

Kindly arrange your own accommodation for the weekend though I would suggest :Legends Backpacker Lodge

Address: #1 Mantenga Falls Drive, Ezulwini Valley

http://www.swazi.travel/Legends_Backpacker_Lodge

This will be a SELFCATERING trip - there is a big shopping centre (Checkers/woolworths) very close by where you will be able to purchase any necessary food items.

OSHOEK is probably the best border post to use.

Customs and immigration regulations must be complied with when entering and leaving Swaziland. Officially recognised border gates should be used when travelling between Swaziland and neighbouring countries unless travelling by air, in which case you enter by Matsapha Airport. All border posts between Swaziland and South Africa are open every day of the year at the following times. The Swaziland name is given first, followed by the name (in brackets) by which the border gate is known in South Africa:

Bulembu (Josefsdal) Gege (Bothashoop) Lavumisa (Golela) Lundzi (Waverly) Mahamba (Mahamba) Mananga (Border Gate) Matsamo (Jeppes Reef) Ngwenya (Oshoek) Salitje (Onverwacht) Sandlane (Nerston) Sicunusa (Houdkop)

08.00 - 16.00 08.00 - 16.00 08.00 - 22.00 08.00 - 16.00 07.00 - 22.00 07.00 - 18.00 07.00 - 20.00 07.00 - 22.00 08.00 - 16.00 08.00 - 18.00 08.00 - 18.00

Ngwenya/Oshoek is the busiest border gate and it becomes heavily congested at certain times, such as at long weekends or when there are special events such as concerts. Queues can take several hours to move and you might think of using an alternative gate at these times to avoid long delays.

From experience - Normal days border crossing will take 10 - 20min - Busy days this may take 30 - 45min

Please let me know if you are keen to join.

Sharron

0825535258

Chimanimani & meetlist for 2018

Hello everyone,

We are planning a trip to the Chimanimani mountains in Zimbabwe at the end of September 2018.

The first priority is to explore the newly discovered Tartarus Cave. A huge sinkhole entrance only briefly explored with no end in sight!

There are also many unexplored surface fissures and various boulder chokes deep underground which need to be pushed.
Lastly, there is an easy to open blowing hole at the bottom of Mawenge Mwena, the deepest cave in Southern Africa. Could this blowing hole lead down another 300 meters to the resurgances?

There is plenty of planning needed for this expedition, so even though it is months away, please let me know if you are interested.

For the rest of 2017 and first half of 2018:

A trip is done once a month on the second Sunday of the month. Extra trips are done on an ad-hoc basis and a few long-weekend trips to other provinces and countries are also organized throughout the year.
There will also be rescue practises every second month. 

• 10 December – Stinkhole – Steven Tucker
• 14 January  - Wonderfontein - John Dickie
• 11 February - Nico's II - Steven Tucker
• 11 March - Hidden Cave - Karin Human
• 21 March - Gobholo Cave in Swaziland - John Dickie
• 8 April - Chaos Cave - John Dickie
• 13 May - Nick's Cave
• 10th June - Dripkelder Cave
• 24 September - Chimanimani in Zimbabwe - John Dickie & Steven Tucker

Please note: These are proposed dates – final details will be sent out closer to the time. Caving trips additional to those above will also be notified via these avenues.

Contact the Meet leader to arrange to join a trip or find out more info on a trip.

Looking forward to a great year of exploration!

Steven Tucker
083 212 0817

SWAZILAND GOBHOLO CAVES EXPEDITION 2017
See website with contact details here
- Message from the organiser:
Dear all,
you are receiving this email, because you either have expressed your interest in participating to next years expedition to Swaziland or because you have participated earlier.
As you might have seen on the blog or facebook, I started checking dates, availability of accommodation, local transport etc. Unfortunately it's a bit slow to get responses. We will either rent a bus and a car (for exploring other areas for caves) or we might be able to borrow a bus (with hopefully functioning brakes - the first year we had a few interesting experiences on the road ;)) and then only need one car.
What will be different from the previous expedition will be that we will stay in Ezulwini, not at the Kapholo estate. This means a (rather low) fee for either bed in a hostel or camping will have to be paid. Everybody will also provide for their own food as we are staying in the village. You can of course in that case cook yourself in the hostel, or we eat out.
The time will be 10 days in end of June/beginning of July, depending still on a few circumstances I am waiting answer on.
What I would need from you is
- are you still interested in participating?
- is the time suitable?
- do you have mapping experience?
- are you member of a caving club and which one?
- Nationality and age
To get an idea about the costs yourself, I encourage you to check flights to see what they will end up at and transport to Ezulwini. If you fly to Jo'burg, you can get a bus to Mbabane and from there either a local bus to Ezulwini (which is an experience!) or we can arrange for a pick-up. I might be there a day or two before everyone else.
Last time we cooked ourselves and kept the costs down by doing that. To eat in a "normal" place is about 50-70 R per person, to eat in a more expensive place about the double. You also need to calculate for water - 1,5 around 17 R, so basically I would say the cost of living (food that is) is comparable to live cheap in Europe:
Cost of Living in Swaziland
Cost of Living in Mbabane, Swaziland. Jan 2016 prices in Mbabane.
Please get back to me about the questions above, I hope I can sort out living and transport the next few weeks.
Regards
Manuela