It has always been a dream for me to meet the locals when I get a change to visit some caves during travel. The humans, of course, but also the ones that have been there even longer than we have, from the little critters to some bigger ones, and maybe even some plants. It turns out that dreams can come true, as I got to see some amazing things on my recent trip to Australia. But also, nightmares can come true, too...
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March 2024, Capricorn Caves, The Caves, Queensland, Australia; Cave, Mt. Etna Caves National Park, The Caves, Queensland, Australia; Mount Beerburrum Bat Caves, Beerburrum, Queensland, Australia; Natural Bridge, Springbrook National Park, Springbrook, Queensland, Australia; Tamborine Mountain Glow Worm Caves, Tamborine Mountain, Queensland, Australia
Caving (Basic, Rock); Caving (Basic, Man-Made); Caving (None)
Paradise Caves. So near (maybe just 1m from the drip line) but so far. There was only three ways in, one covered by tide, and the other two were rock ledges sloping towards a cliff. And the rain and the sea swell had made everything more slipper than I liked. Turned around.
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March 2024, Paradise Caves, Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia; Sunshine Beach, Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia
Caving (Basic, Morphology-Erosion, Rock-Unknown); Swimming (Waterbody-Sea, Beach)
Grotta San Giovanni is near Lecco and Lago di Como, in northern Italy. As you can see from above, the views are wonderful! But there's a mystery: did this cave inspire Leonardo da Vinci's painting Madonna (or Virgin) on the Rocks?
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January 2024, Grotta San Giovanni, Lecco, Italy; Grotta San Giovanni side cave 1, Lecco, Italy; Grotta San Giovanni side cave 2, Lecco, Italy; Grotta San Giovanni cemetery side cave, Lecco, Italy
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst); Urban-Exploration (Other)
Popova Shapka is one of the major ski resorts in North Macedonia. Perhaps THE major resort even. At the time I was there, however, in early season it had not yet opened. Wanted to see it though.
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December 2023, Popova Shapka, Tetovo, North Macedonia
Skiing (None); Caving (None)
On my trip to North-Macedonia, I drove by an interesting rock formation on the way to the Popova Shapka ski area above the town of Tetovo. I did not have time to explore other caves, and this one wasn't much of a cave either. But in Finland it would qualify as a cave. A small crack in an eroded rock feature sticking out.
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December 2023, Guri i Sidollit mini-cave, Popova Shapka, Tetovo, North Macedonia
Caving (Rock, Rock-Unknown, Morphology-Crack, Basic)
I had an opportunity visit Castel Gandolfo recently. While I had been there briefly before, it was clear that there'd be more to explore. Castel Gandolfo sits on the rim of the lake Lago Albano, and also near Lago di Nemi. These lakes are beautiful places but also with interesting geology, both being volcanic craters.
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November 2023, Arte e Vino, Castel Gandolfo, Italy; Grotta Neolitica, Castel Gandolfo, Italy; Piccola Grotta Neolitica al Lago, Castel Gandolfo, Italy; Minuscola Grotta al Lago, Castel Gandolfo, Italy
Caving (Man-Made, Rock, Basic); Caving (Rock, Rock-Volcanic, None, Morphology-Erosion); Caving (Rock, Basic, Surveying, Rock-Volcanic, Morphology-Erosion); Caving (Rock, Basic, Rock-Volcanic, Morphology-Erosion)
What a wonderful experience, pre-Xmas party with my caver friends, in a Lava (angled shelter by the fire) and Palju (a barrel of hot water). What could be better? Oh yeah, we had also interesting talks about explorations in Norway, Turku, and ... also our own Käsivarsi exploration in the summer.
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November 2023, Ilvesjoki Caving Association Headquarters, Ilvesjoki, Finland
Caving (None, Social)
I had great plans, but they all failed. Either the caves I visited turned out to be man-made, they were too small and I had to let them go, I didn't find them, or I arrived to late and they were already closed. So much for my effort to visit five new caves on my way from the conference to the airport.
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November 2023, Jeskyné Klemperka, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Jeskyné Klemperka underground hole, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Jeskyné Klemperka side apartment, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Kokořín shelter cave 1, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Kokořín shelter cave 2, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Jeskyné Rozbořenka, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Jeskyné Wernerovka, Medonosy-Libéchov, Czech Republic; Wernerovka firepit shelter cave, Medonosy-Libéchov, Czech Republic; Wernerovka mini cavelet, Medonosy-Libéchov, Czech Republic; Konépruské Jeskyné, Konéprusy, Czech Republic; Kodska Jeskyné, Srbska, Czech Republic
Caving (Rock-Sandstone, Basic, Rock, Morphology-Erosion); Caving (Rock-Sandstone, Basic, Rock, Man-Made); Caving (Rock, None)
This summer I managed to write another article to the cave radio expert group's journal, the CREG journal. This time the article was about cave-outliner, and turning 3D models into maps, slices, and plan views.
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October 2023, House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Caving (None, Media, Researching, Equipment)
We continued the sampling of the best Finnish caves on our weekend tour, as well as played more with the nice lights we had. (Previous light story was here.)
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September 2023, Torholan luola, Lohja, Finland
Caving (Basic, Equipment, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst)
If your caving friend was coming over for a weekend, what would you show about the Finnish caving scene? Here's our menu for a caving buffet, covering everything from ice saunas to block caves to cracks in granite, mines, limestone caves, to salmon meals to ... did I already mention saunas? Not to forget Sibelius for dessert!
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September 2023, Viking Glory, Stockholm, Sweden; Luolavuoren luola, Turku, Finland; Rotkoluola, Kaarina, Finland; Itäkeskuksen uimahalli, Helsinki, Finland; House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland; Högberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Ansabunkkeri, Siuntio, Finland; Korkbergetin lohkareluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Hvitträsk cliff, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Sauna (Normal, Steam, Other); Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Crack, Morphology-Boulders, Equipment); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Crack, Equipment); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Travel; Caving (Basic, , Rock, Equipment, Morphology-Erosion); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Boulders); Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites)
Korkberget is my favorite local cave. Also one of Finland's largest block caves, even if you don't get to go very dark while going through the cave; in most places you can see entrances and light between the boulders. But it is a wonderful sight, a great squeeze exercise, and nice back massage. And clearly an opportunity to practice much needed flexibility by the cavers :-)
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September 2023, Korkbergetin lohkareluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Boulders)
A canyon. A wonder of nature that I did not know existed in Finland. Amazing, truly amazing green views! A place so secret that I do not wish to even tell its name or coordinates, for fear of leading more traffic to this delicate natural place. The place is near Turku, however. Let's call the it "Kaarinan rotkoluola" (Kaarina crack cave). You may ask how we knew about this place. We had a friend with us with knowledge... so here we were.
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September 2023, Rotkoluola, Kaarina, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Morphology-Crack, Equipment)
Our first stop on the grand tour of southern Finland caves was in Turku, in the Luolavuori cave (The Cave Mountain Cave :-) ). We ended up trying for fun various lights, an oil lamp and a new Black Diamond headlamp that supports not just white but also red, green, and blue light. Very nice effects!
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September 2023, Luolavuoren luola, Turku, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Crack, Morphology-Boulders, Equipment)
As part of our exploration trip to the Njiellalanjávri area, we scouted all signs of limestone around lakes Njiellalanjávri, Toskaljärvi, Veajetjávrrit, and Láfoljávri lakes, and the mountains in between. In some cases limestone was easy to identify, known to be limestone, in other cases it was not so easy to identify by non-experts. But we think we made a reasonable analysis, and found quite many places where there is at least potential limestone. There's plenty of loose rock pieces that are clearly limestone, but the more interesting target for us were ground rock layers. Or larger collections of potential limestone rock pieces that might indicate a ground rock layer would be somewhere nearby.
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August 2023, Toskaljärven maanalainen joki, Enontekiö, Finland; Njiellalanjávri, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárrit, Enontekiö, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Researching); Hiking; Climbing (Mountain)
As part of our exploration trip to the Njiellalanjávri area, we scouted all possible cave holes around lakes Njiellalanjávri, Toskaljärvi, Veajetjávrrit, and Láfoljávri lakes, and the mountains in between. We also scouted for limestone (see separate article).
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August 2023, Láfolvárritin rinteen lohkareluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfoljávrin jyrkänteen kolmioluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen lippaluola lohkareella, Enontekiö, Finland; Skaidin pikkukolot, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven maanalainen joki, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven jyrkänteen lohkareluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven jyrkänteen vesiputouksen lohkareluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen puronuomaluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen lohkarealusta, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin lohkare, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven jyrkänteen kolo, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen oviaukkokolo, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen sivuhalkeama 1, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen sivuhalkeama 2, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen alempi lippaluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen ylempi lippaluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin pieni halkeamaluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin minihalkeama, Enontekiö, Finland; Veajetoaivon lippaluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Veajetjávrritin kanjonin luolanen, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfoljávrin jyrkänteen paperiluolanen, Enontekiö, Finland
Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Morphology-Boulders, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Limestone, Morphology-Karst, Surveying); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Boulders); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Boulders); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Boulders); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Boulders); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Boulders); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Gneiss, Surveying, Morphology-Crack); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Unknown, Morphology-Unknown); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Unknown, Morphology-Unknown)