Somebody asked me yesterday what my hobby was and I would love to tell you all about my hobby: Caving!
Going Underground
I first started caving about 4 years ago. I was already fond of climbing and had heard that caving combined rope techniques with the awesomeness of going to places that not many people visit.
This is me after my first cave visit ever (without the proper gear yet haha) and as you might be able to see I loved it! Since you can't cave in the Netherlands I go to Belgium to do most of my caving. I have joined a caving club, which you need because all Belgian caves are locked and can only be opened by the clubs to prevent accidents and damage to the caves.
Not much is required to be a caver, you need some knowledge of rope work and tying knots and you need to be ok with cramped and dark spaces. Besides that you need to always have someone with you with knowledge of the specific cave you are going in and with a call-out to people on the outside so they can alarm people if you don't come out (no phone signal down there)
The Amazing Underground World
I think a lot of people assume that the underground world is just dark and scary, but it is an absolutely amazing place to see. There are formations that have formed over lots of time and pressure, amazing colors and shapes. And the idea that you might be one of the very few to see them makes it a lot more special.
In this cave (crackpot in the UK) you can see lots of formations from the ceiling, so called stalactites and even a fully formed column that runs from the top all the way down, quite rare!
One of the most amazing caves I have ever visited was in Hotton, Belgium. This cave is only open a few times a year on request. It is a very fragile cave with beautiful formations and they don't want many people entering and possibly breaking things. We managed to make a couple of pictures. It is super difficult to take pictures in caves, you need to bring extra light to make it work and that means carrying all of the lights in, a big faff.
The formations in Hotton are so special because there are so many and they are still super pristine! When you look up close they are like unique snowflakes.
Not Just a Hobby but a Family
Caving has not just become my hobby but has given me a whole caving family. It is a great mix of Belgian and Dutch cavers and we meet about twice a month. We have been through a lot together and below the surface you really have to be able to rely on each other.
Because of the pandemic we haven't been able to cave much but I hope we can see each other soon again and continue our underground adventures.
Hope to hear more about your hobbies this weekend, have a great weekend!
Wow what a nice thing you had friend, cool! I am wondering the feeling that you have while entering the cave hehe