I'm not particularly sure I like caves. They certainly are a wonderment - the opposite of a mountain deserves our awe and interest - and I quite like to be a tourist in them, but they always make me quite uncomfortable. When I was a little girl, perhaps four years old, we visited some caves in country Victoria (Buchan Caves, perhaps) and my Mum turned to see little me with my red cardigan pulled over my head protectively, as if I knew even then the potential of caves to collapse on those who dared venture within.

Finding ourselves at the free camp at the Honeycomb caves at Mole Creek, I hesitated to go near them. A biker warned us against going too deep as they are honeycomb by nature not just name - many little caves that joined up like honeycomb and could easily see you lost. We told him not to worry - we didn't plan on going far.

The cave entrances are all where the small creek is which in fact flows into and through them. Though I came to the mouth of one, I let Jamie go in a little further with his torch. I've been in caves in Thailand, Poland and many other places besides, and the more I've been in over time, the less I've liked it.

Have you ever seen the movie The Descent? Cavers, lost inside a huge cave system, are set up on by these awful creatures, perhaps human, perhaps not, but certainly terrifying. The end has haunted me since I saw it years ago. I don't want to plot spoil it to much though.

But it's not just that. It's the sense of wandering into the dark recesses of the self that perhaps bothers me. The interminable darkness within. The Earth is us, after all. I don't like all that silence, the sound of my own blood moving.

However, all angst aside, it was a lovely hour or so exploring, and the farmland, mountains and trees surrounding the caves were truly beautiful.

The free camp too was really nice, and we collected water from the stream to shower with, and enjoyed an afternoon reading and sunning ourselves as if to counteract the cold darkness we had ever so slightly ventured toward, in the bowels of the honeycomb caves.

With Love,

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