CAVE
AND
KARST SCIENCE, Vol.39, No.3, 2012
© British Cave Research Association 2012
ISSN 1356-191X
Transactions of the British Cave Research Association
A history of cave explorations on the Cape Peninsula
mountain chain of South Africa: 1709 et seq.
Stephen A CRAVEN
7 Amhurst Avenue, Newlands 7700, South Africa.
e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: An account is given of the early and recent exploration of the caves south of Cape Town.
Key words: Cape Town, Table Mountain, Cape Peninsula, Wynberg, Elephant’s Eye, Bats Cave, Giant’s
Workshop, Vivarium, Boomslang, Muizenberg Cave, Peers Cave.
Received: 19 November 2012; Accepted: 10 December 2012.
The history of cave exploration, as opposed to cave habitation, in the
Cape, goes back three centuries. Most of the Cape Peninsula caves,
although situated within easy reach of the metropolis, feature late in
the historical record because they are short, devoid of speleothems, and
therefore of no commercial interest. Even in more recent times many
explorations and discoveries have not been well documented.
Exploration and surveying is ongoing by members of the South
African Spelæological Association in Cape Town. At the time of
writing there are 4km of continuous surveyed cave passage, maximum
depth 50m, under the Back Table. The proximity of the Peninsula caves
to the Cape metropolis, and the high cost of petrol, have during the past
decade encouraged their more systematic and intensive exploration to
the detriment of the larger limestone caves to the east of Bredasdorp and
north of Oudtshoorn. Indeed, on 10 and 18 November 2012 members
extended Merlin Cave and discovered its connection to Bats Cave1.
The geomorphology of the predominantly Table Mountain Sandstone
caves, which occur in the Cape Peninsula Mountain Chain extending
some 50km south of Table Bay to Cape Point (Fig.1), is described by
Margaret Marker and Peter Swart2.
cave would make an excellent refuge for escaped convicts7. Eventually in
1958 the cave was again rediscovered and, from the surviving artefacts,
identified as Penny’s cave8. The technical difficulties in getting to the
cave indicate that Penny was a not-unskilled climber9.
The Table Mountain Caves
Joshua Penny’s Cave, Fountain Ravine: 1800
Joshua Penny was an American sailor who had been impressed into
the Royal Navy. During January 1800 he deserted and found, on Table
Mountain, a “cavern which secured me from storms near a spring of
good water” overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. He stayed there for about
a year, living off the land and raiding gardens3. This cave, in Fountain
Ravine, was next noted by members of the Mountain Club on 10 January
1892, but its historical significance was not then appreciated4,5:
“Yesterday, in an unfrequented defile on the western side of Table
Mountain, and about 2000 feet up, a member of the Mountain
Club discovered a large cave, which had evidently many years
ago been dwelt in by human beings for a considerable time. The
roof was blackened with smoke, and on the floor was a quantity
of débris, which, on being turned over with a stick, proved to be
the ashes of long-extinguished fires. In one corner of the cave,
half covered with earth, were the remains of an old calabash,
a rusty piece of iron shaped like a sickle, and a piece of wood,
about a foot long, curiously carved and notched. Amongst the
débris were also found some fragments of decayed basketwork
and a quantity of ‘dassie’ bones, and on a ledge was another
piece of iron similar in shape to the one first found. The spot
where the cave was situated was somewhat difficult to get at,
and in a very wild portion of the mountain.”
Two years later the Mountain Club members, George Travers-Jackson
and J Searle, rediscovered the cave and described the artefacts6. A further
visit was made in 1900 by Mountain Club members, who noted that the
Figure 1: South Africa’s Cape Peninsula. The north–south dimension of the
image is about 58km.
101
Figure 2: Sites of selected cave entrances in the Table Mountain area. The
west–east extent of the area covered by the image is about 1.4km. 1 = Vivarium;
2 = Smugglers; 3 = Wynberg; 4 = Hangmans; 5 = Bats; 6 = Giants.
Vivarium: 1987
The Vivarium (Fig.2) is a large chamber of difficult access with influent
stream overlooking Hout Bay, and was first described and named on
28 March 1987 in the Mountain Club hut register10. It was surveyed
(210m) on 7 May 1983 by Anthony Hitchcock11.
Wynberg Cave: 1893 et seq.
The Wynberg Cave (Fig.2) is named for the former municipality that had
constructed the nearby Alexandra, Victoria and De Villiers reservoirs
on the Back Table. The Table Mountain resident ranger kept a visitors’
book between 1 October 1889 and 22 February 189612. The ranger
between August 1893 and October 1895 was Mr W H Fox (Fig.3)13. The
book contains names and addresses, but it rarely records destinations.
Nevertheless four parties explored unnamed caves that almost certainly
included Wynberg Cave:
10 or (more likely) 17 December 189314
W Macfarlane
Cape Town (Mountain Club)
Alfred Bolus
Cape Town (Mountain Club)
A S Rogers
Cape Town (Mountain Club)
Francis Guthrie
Rosebank (Mountain Club)
H(enry) L(ewis) Harris
Cape Town (Mountain Club)
“Explored caves four hours underground”.
Maynard Nash (Mountain Club) and C W Adams (Mountain Club)
“waited on top and kept time”.
1 January 1894
W J Spracklen
Arthur J Walker
D Jacobson
A S Robertson
C Spreckley
L A Griffin
A E Clark
Mr (W H) Fox
Cape Town (Mountain Club)
Cape Town (Mountain Club)
Cape Town
Cape Town (Mountain Club)
Cape Town
Cape Town
“Stopped over January 2nd 1894 all these explored the Caves.”
Figure 3: The Fox family; Left to Right: W H Fox (Ranger), his son Arthur,
Mrs Fox. Unknown at rear160.
102
25 February 1894
Mary P Colper
Waterford, Ireland
Arthur J Walker
Lewisham, Kent, England
“Down Caves jolly time of it.”
The third person in the party, A F Lambert of Wexford, Ireland, was too
big to explore the caves.
11 March 1894
S Meyer
London
Robert F Nichol
London
G M Southam
London
“We went down the Caves with the invincible Mr Fox.”
Mr Fox was clearly a popular guide to the “caves” which, being
plural, suggests that he may have been familiar with other caves on the
Back Table15.
The Mountain Club had been founded in Cape Town in 1891 and, by
1894, “one of the most interesting objects of pursuit of the members …
is the exploration of the caves which are found on the mountains of the
Cape Peninsula”16. There is a close comparison here with the Yorkshire
Ramblers’ Club, which had been founded in Leeds in 1892. Even though
there is nothing in the constitution to permit it, its members very soon
turned their attention to that county’s caves17. Both Clubs published
their early meet reports in great detail in the local newspapers.
At Committee on 6 June 1895 “caves” were discussed, one member
having recently inspected the “bushman caves” near Stinkwater on
Table Mountain18. This suggests that the members did not appreciate
the difference between overhangs and rock shelters, and true caves with
permanent darkness.
In December 1893, as confirmed above, members of the Mountain
Club descended Wynberg Cave using ropes to descend the pitches, and
gave a good description of the place. The rope for the final pitch was
belayed to a beam of wood19. During December 1900 a specimen of
Speleacris tabulae was collected and given to Rudolph Marloth, the
Professor of Chemistry at the Victoria College which later became
Stellenbosch University. It had been collected 30m below the surface
from an unidentified cave. This must have been from Wynberg Cave
because at that time no other deep cave was known20,21.
These were not the first visits to the “genuine underground passages”,
which were already well-known if not previously and fully described
in writing. Their exploration required 30m of stout rope and 12m of
thinner rope22. A further meet was held on 18 November 1906, attended
by Messrs A H S Begg, (W Ross) Brown, Kenneth Cameron, J S Reeler,
George F Travers-Jackson and (Professor A) Young23, en route to which
were “many deep holes, covered with long grass”. This prompted the
author to predict correctly that, “there are several entrances to this cave
which have yet to be discovered”24.
On 6 June 1908 Messrs Ken Cameron and Matthew Webb of the
Mountain Club visited, “Wynberg Reservoir Caves, Holes &c”. The
plurality of this diary entry indicates that they explored Wynberg
and the adjacent, less obvious, caves on the Back Table, but no more
information is available. Cameron and friends visited Wynberg Cave on
18 November 1906 (mentioned above), 10 December 1906 (alone), 6
December 1908, 17 February 1909 and 20 March 191025.
During Easter 1909 Wynberg Cave was surveyed (Fig.4), elevation
and plan, by Messrs E F J Weerts and C L Robertson, assisted by D
T Storm and H A Eastman (non-members)26 using a miner’s dial with
a semi-circular vertical arc mounted on a tripod, and a tape measure.
Figure 4: The 1909 survey of Wynberg Cave by members of the Mountain Club161.
By then the bottom chamber had been named Pluto’s Hall, and the
12m pitch had been avoided by the discovery of the Spiral Staircase
(now renamed The Corkscrew) through the adjacent boulder choke27,28.
Weerts took the opportunity to collect another specimen of Speleacris
tabulae29. The surveyors stayed at the Club hut and, for some unknown
reason, Weerts failed to pay his £0-4-0 (40 cents) hut fees. Weerts and
Robertson paid a further visit on 12 June 1909, presumably to continue
the survey30. On 10 August 1909, immediately after the survey had been
drawn, the Committee agreed to write off the fees in exchange for a
copy of the survey31.
On 25 or 26 January 1913 Messrs William Croucher West, and
Eugene Kress of the Lausanne branch of the Swiss Alpine Club, visited
Wynberg Cave32. The Club members returned to Wynberg Cave on 7
September 1913 to help Keppel Barnard of the South African Museum
collect biological specimens33,34. Frank Berrisford visited Wynberg
Cave on various occasions between 1920 and 192235.
The Mountain Club’s Table Mountain Hut visitors’ books confirm
that during the next four decades there were occasional visits to the
Wynberg and possibly other caves under the Back Table by members of
the Club, and by pupils of the South African College and other schools.
The only notable visitor was Keppel Barnard, Mountain Club Secretary
and Assistant Director of the South African Museum, who “biologised”
in Wynberg Cave on 24 March 1929, 16 – 17 and 21 April 1929, 18 May
1930, 11 – 12 March 193136 and 13 May 1933. Other biologists who
collected in Wynberg Cave were R F Lawrence and H Womersley who,
during August 1930, found therein Chthioniella cavernicola n.sp.37
As early as the 1930s the City Council had, for very good reason,
banned camping and firelighting on Table Mountain and employed
rangers for enforcement. This led to complaints from some visitors, one
of whom complained that she had been “marched off the whole (cave)
area by municipal rangers as though we were criminals”. The Cape
Times sent a reporter to investigate. He wrote that he was “treated with
the utmost courtesy”, and told that he would be directed to the caves if he
did not know their situation. A municipal official said that the caves had
always been open to visitors38. The next day a correspondent disagreed.
He also had been “marched” off the Back Table, and been told by two
separate rangers that the caves were in a prohibited area39. To settle
the issue the Cape Times sent another reporter who was courteously
accompanied to Wynberg Cave by a ranger40.
The story now moves to 26 December 1950 following when Jose
Burman of the Mountain Club, and friends considerably extended
Wynberg Cave without any Municipal interference. They found four
new entrances and published a new survey41,42. In September 1954
they had founded the South African Spelæological Association. One
of them, John Grindley of the South African Museum, had an interest
in cave fauna43. Between 1954 and 1961 he collected innumerable
cavernicolous specimens from Wynberg Cave and elsewhere in the
Cape Peninsula mountain chain44.
Indeed it was Jose Burman who pioneered systematic cave
exploration on Table Mountain. He and his friends were the first to
explore and describe Bats Cave, Giant’s Workshop, Climbers’ Cave,
and Smuggler’s Cave. They also found Hangman’s Cave, The Powder
Room (1964)45, The Magistrate’s Court (5 September 1956)46 and
Adrian’s Well (named for Adrian Bogers)47. Exploration and survey
work by Association members has continued since then, but little has
yet been published.
Eventually, the connection between Wynberg Cave and Crossroads
Cave was excavated by Alf Alfreds et al. of the Association during the
autumn of 200848.
Grootkop: 1910
The two short and shallow caves on Grootkop, at the southwest
corner of Table Mountain, were visited on 8 May 1910 by Kenneth
Cameron of the Mountain Club, but no detail is available49. They
were described, and named Crack O’ Doom Cave and Black Water
Pot, in 195750.
Orion’s Cave: 1921
Orion’s Cave is a 40m-long cave situated in Waaikopje in Echo Valley,
mid-way between the Back Table and Maclear’s Beacon. It seems that in
1921 visitors were already finding their way into that cave. On 11 April
1921 a letter from the Cape Town Publicity Association was tabled at
the Mountain Club Committee meeting. The Association wanted the
Mountain Club to support its request to the Town Council to move
the wire fence from the front entrance of the cave to the rear, thereby
facilitating entry. The conservation minded committee disagreed. Two
years later the Club chairman regretted that access to the Cave would
probably be granted51.
Bats Cave: 1951
Bats Cave (Fig.2), named for the large numbers of noisy bats that inhabit
the entrance chamber, lies east of Wynberg Cave in the same fault. It
was first recorded, descended and surveyed in 1951 by Jose Burman
and friends52,53, and extended during 196054. Several visits were made
in 1956 during which the members of the South African Spelæological
Association collected several specimens of Spelæogriphus lepidops,
previously unknown to science55,56.
Giant’s Workshop: 1952
This cave (Fig.2), situated to the east of Bats Cave in the same fault, was
noted in 1952 by Jose Burman and friends who eventually described it
thirteen years later, having found a second entrance. No survey was
published57. The connection between Giant’s Workshop and Bats Cave
was dug on 6 March 1977 by Richard Howell, Charles Maxwell and
David Hibling of the South African Spelæological Association (Cape
Section)58.
Smugglers Cave: 1954
Smugglers Cave (Fig.2) is the most demanding cave on Table Mountain
in that it has four pitches that need tackle, delaying exploration. It took
two years for Jose Burman and friends to reach the bottom of the 75mdeep pothole in 1954 with the help of ropes and rope ladders59,60,61. The
cave was resurveyed on 7 May 1983 by Anthony Hitchcock et al.62.
Hangman’s Cave: 1956
On 12 August 1956 Malcolm Griffin of the Mountain Club made the
first recorded visit to Hangman’s Cave (Fig.2). He was not impressed
with the cave, and wrote that it was his “first time and last”63. It was
connected to Bats Cave on 5 May 2007 by Alf Alfreds and Stuart Jepson
of the Spelæological Association64.
Climber’s Cave: 1957
This 45m-deep cave, also in the same fault, was found, descended and
surveyed in 1957 by Jose Burman and friends65. In 1993 members of
the Spelæological Association, led by Tim Truluck, connected the cave
to the Bats – Giant’s system66.
The southern Peninsula caves
There are over a hundred short caves in the southern Peninsula above
Muizenberg and Kalk Bay (Fig.5) of which the longest is Ronan’s Well
– Robin Hood Cavern at about 400m.
Elephant’s Eye: 1709
An early, if not the first, description of a Cape Peninsula cave comes
from Peter Kolben, a Prussian astronomer and anthropologist who was
resident in the Cape between 11 June 1705 and 9 April 171367. He
entered the cave in 1709 with the Vryburger Friedrich Rossouw68,69
and recorded:
“on the Top of the Stone-Mountain there is a deep and ſpacious
Cave, call’d the Prince’s Caſtle; opening, one Way, towards
the Bay-Falzo. ‘Tis the general Notion at the Cape, that this
Cave is the Work of Nature. ‘Tis not eaſie to be believ’d indeed,
that the Hottentots made it, ſince they are ſo lazie a Race, that
they will not give themselves the Trouble to dig a small hole for
their Dead, if they can find, at any reaſonable Diſtance, a Hole
made by a wild Beaſt; and this Cave, if t’was made by Hands,
was a mighty Labour. ‘Tis above 90 Feet high, and above 40
broad; and will contain 200 Men, allowing Elbow-Room for
each. … The Entrance was much and far crowded with Shrubs;
and as we apprehended ſome Wild Beaſt or other might be in
the Cave, I fir’d a Gun into it: But we could not thereupon
obſerve that any Thing ſtirred in it. We therefore advanc’d;
but were ſtopped by ſuch a Crowd of Trees and Shrubs, that
we open’d a Way by burning ‘em. Being got to the End of the
Cave, we view’d it narrowly, and diſcover’d ſome Appearances
of Digging, enough to make us conclude, that the Cave there
was made by Hands.”70
103
Figure 5: Sites of selected cave entrances in the area west of Kalk Bay. The
west–east extent of the area covered by the image is about 3.9km. 1 = Ystervark;
2 = Tartarus; 3 = Muizenberg; 4 = Devil’s Pit; 5 = Boomslang.
The description of this cave, its outlook towards False Bay, and its
proximity to the Prinskasteelrivier, are compatible with the conspicuous
Elephant’s Eye cave southeast of Constantiaberg.
Writing half a century later Otto Mentzel, successively soldier,
teacher and clerk in the service of the Dutch East India Company71, who
did not visit the cave, correctly disputed Kolben’s belief that the cave is
an artefact, and alleged that the latter did not visit the cave72.
Cape Point Granite Cave: 1829
The next report of cave exploration is that of the granite sea cave
immediately to the west of Cape Point on 8 January 1829. On that date
it was explored by James Holman (1776 – 1857), a blind former Royal
Naval officer. The remarkable feature of this report is that, despite
the author’s disability, he did explore the cave and give an accurate
description73. Or perhaps his amanuensis explored the cave?
Muizenberg Cave: pre-1890
The literature about Muizenberg Cave (Fig.5) is confounded by there
being two “caves” with the same name. One is an overhang overlooking
False Bay to the east, and much frequented by climbers for at least
a century. The Cave with permanent darkness is 1.5km inland on the
western side of the rock face.
Muizenberg Cave has the most prominent entrance of the southern
Peninsula caves, and is recorded at 18°27′20″E, 34°06′19″S on the
trignometrical survey map74. During 1890 it was explored by Jack C W
Moore who was taken there by his father, but nothing is known about
that visit. This suggests that Moore Sr. had visited the Cave on a previous
occasion. The next recorded visit was on 10 March 1912, when Adriaan
A H Jurgens of the Mountain Club, and Louie and Leonard Ross, “went
down” the Cave75.
On 30 August 1913 the Kalk Bay Town Clerk, thinking that the caves
under its land may have had commercial potential, asked the Mountain
Club to investigate:
“A suggestion has been made by my Council that the caves
on Muizenberg mountain might be explored to advantage and
it has been suggested that some of the members of your club
might be interested in the matter. If so, my Council would be
willing to give assistance of any of their [employees] that you
might require for the purpose of working ropes etc.
“I shall be glad to hear from you if you think your club will
be willing to take up this matter and get some of its members
to make an exploration. I may say that the party making the
suggestion considers that it is possible that as the caves have
hitherto been unexplored, stalactites might be found, and if so,
the caves might be opened for public inspection.76”
Following discussion at committee77, on 30 November 191378,79
Messrs Keppel H Barnard, A Handel Hamer, William Croucher West
and Matthew Webb visited the Cave. Hamer and Barnard descended the
7.5m pitch, enabling the latter to collect “various shrimp-like creatures”
from the low wet crawl for the South African Museum80. “The net result
of the examination of the cave was disappointing”, but a good lunch
was eaten81! With the benefit of hindsight it is clear that no stalactite
would be found in sandstone caves, but that knowledge was not readily
available in South Africa in 1913.
The cave was accurately described and surveyed (Fig.6) in April
1920 by Arthur Durham Divine, who had formerly been on the staff of
the South African Museum82. By April 1932 he had become a leaderwriter on the Cape Times83, and he later became a popular novelist.
Boomslang Cave: 1914
Boomslang Cave (Fig.5), under Cave Peak to the south of Echo Valley,
is the best known cave above Kalk Bay. It was described and surveyed
(Fig.7) on 29 September 1914 by Messrs J C Sampson and E Arderne,
Figure 6: The three
components of the April
1920 survey of Muizenberg
Cave by A D Divine162.
Note that for economy
of space the three survey
components are shown
here as they were sketched
in the survey notebook and
hence the parts of the cave
shown are not intended
to be continuous between
the
separate
images.
Comparison of the general
passage outlines and the
outlines of sketched details
shows that the two smaller
drawings lie on opposite
sides of the larger one.
104
In October 1923 the cave was accurately surveyed (Fig.8) and
described in detail. The Leader was Mr Fred Grace of Kalk Bay,
accompanied by Marthinus Versfeld of the Mountain Club, A R C
Walker of the University of Cape Town’s Geology Department, and
several ladies85,86. One of the visitors enthusiastically likened it to
“Aladdin’s Cave”, and it has since acquired the alias Upper Aladdin’s
Cave87. An even longer description appeared the following year88.
On 17 December 1960 Mr N Leleup collected more than sixty
specimens of a tiny isopod, subsequently identified as a new species of
the genus Protojanira89.
Peers Cave: 1926
Peers Cave is a rock shelter of archaeological importance situated about
3km northwest of Fish Hoek. It was discovered and excavated in 1926
– 1928 by a local resident, Victor Peers, who found three skeletons,
which were subsequently deposited in the South African Museum90.
Johan Gustav Meyer
Figure 7: The September 1914 survey of Boomslang Cave by Messrs Sampson
and Arderne163. [See also Figure 8.]
who claimed to have been the first inside. In a letter dated 13 April 1916
written from the Marine Hotel in Muizenberg to the Mountain Club,
they wrote:
“We have been advised to inform you of a cave in Kalk Bay
mountain which we claim to have discovered.
Between 1924 and 1950 there was active in the caves above Muizenberg
and Kalk Bay a small informal group of friends who called themselves
“The Moles”. They were led by Johan Gustav Meyer91 (b. 30 May
1873 – d. 09 September 195292), and included Phil Hitchcock and Basil
Harris. Meyer (Fig.9) kept a Mountain Diary which recorded their 26
years’ activity in a series of five typewritten diaries covered in brown
paper: 1433 numbered visits to the Kalk Bay mountains and caves93.
“Jack” C W Moore (died 196294) was not a Mole. Despite living
in the same small town as Meyer, he is mentioned only twice in the
Meyer diaries. On 7 October 1944 he joined Meyer for a day in some
“On the 29th. Sept. 1914 we happened by chance upon the main
entrance. This really is nothing more than a hole 2½ ft high by
2 ft. wide.
“But on entering, the whole place opens out enormously. All the
people we have taken up say it is the best cave they have seen
in the Peninsula.
“I have enclosed a rough sketch, giving the very approximate
measurements so that you can form some idea of the extent of
the place.
“The cave is situated in the ridge bounding the southern side
of the 1st Gorge.
“Do not think we are confusing our find with the ‘Fishing
Cave’, as we are fully acquainted with this and the other minor
caves in Kalk Bay and Muizenberg mountains.”
Nothing is known about these gentlemen. That they wrote from a hotel,
and do not feature in the Cape Town street directories, suggests that
they were not locals84.
Figure 9: John Gustav Meyer on 19 September 1942; photographer unknown.
Figure 8: The October 1923 survey of
Boomslang Cave by members of the
Mountain Club of South Africa.
[See also Figure 7.]
105
Date
03 January 1924
21 January 1924
05 January 1924
25 January 1924
07 February 1924
11 February 1924
14 February 1924
16 February 1924
18 February 1924
21 February 1924
26 February 1924
01 March 1924
04 March 1924
24 March 1924
31 March 1924
19 December 1924
21 January 1933
17 April 1931
24 January 1933
31 July 1933
29 August 1933
08 September 1933
10 October 1933
17 October 1933
14 November 1933
29 November 1933
02 December 1933
Cave
Boomslang Cave (alias Lower Aladdin)
Central Grotto, Leslie’s Grotto 101
Muizenberg Cave
Echo Halt
Kalk Bay Caves
Twin Grottoes, Ronan’s Well
Harbour-View Cave, The Labyrinth (alias Aladdin
Cave), Clovelly Cave
Wizard’s Cell
Double-Storey (alias Mystery) Grotto, Cave of the
Musical Drops, Magic Cave, Greenstone Cave,
Chimney Cave
Dragon Cave, White Dome Grotto, Avernus
Two new chambers found in Clovelly Cave
Picnic Cave, Creeper-fern Cave, Surprise Grotto
Corridor (alias Jubilee) Caves, Erica Cave 102,
Sarcophagus Cave
Robin Hood Cavern, Ronan’s Well, Egyptian Cave,
Blue Disa Cave, Squeezes Cave
Johles Cave 103
Crystal Water Grotto (alias Wolf Cave)
Vier Grotte
Bobby’s Grotto 104
Drip Drop Cave
“Another new cave”
Spook Cave, Devil’s Pit, Johjoh Spelonk
Adullam Cave
Tjoklets Grotto, Green Grotto
Broken Pot Grotto
Sunbeam Cavern, Sofa Cave, Bettie’s Cave 105, Alpha
Grotto
Johalvin Cave
Watsonia Cave
Date
Cave
Styx Dungeon
Lower entrance to Devil’s Pit
Ystervarkgrot, Tartarus (Fig.5)
Nivla Grottoes
Taphos
Tea Cave, Lunch Cave
Onverwag
Ernedwol Cave
Edward’s Limit 106
Six Moles Cave
Pollie Loer Maar 107
Leap-Year Grottos
Hurling chamber in Boomslang Cave
Wiener’s Well 108
Langverwag
Step Aside
Kleinput
Imp Cave
Stand-on-your-head Cave
Little Tartarus, Prism Cave
Commemoration 333
Beatrice (alias Beatrix) Cave 109, Welcome Water
16 February 1938
Cave
04 June 1938
Tim’s Limit
01 February 1939
Martha’s Cave
12 March 1941
Crassula Cave
19 April 1941
Climax Cave
19 June 1941
New passage found in Labyrinth
20 November 1941 First descent of Oread Halls 110,111
27 January 1942
Lower entrance to Oread Halls opened 112
07 September 1946 Me Too Cave 113
29 December 1933
24 February 1934
20 March 1934
31 March 1934
19 June 1934
22 June 1934
12 March 1935
16 November 1935
26 November 1935
30 November 1935
16 January 1936
29 January 1936
05 September 1936
02 October 1936
06 March 1937
06 March 1937
29 March 1937
19 October 1937
25 October 1937
02 November 1937
04 December 1937
Table 1: Meyer’s first cave reports as recorded in the typed extracts from the missing handwritten Mountain Diaries. First recorded mentions are listed in bold type. E&OE.
of the caves; and on 12 April 1947 their paths crossed on the mountain.
His earliest cave visit was to Muizenberg Cave in 1890, followed by
Clovelly Cave two years later. He had also visited Twin Caverns, Echo
Halt and Ronan’s Well during 1910, and was clearly well informed
about the area’s caves.
Meyer kept detailed records of his explorations, but published
nothing. He made several Grade 1 surveys. One essential item of
equipment was a tin of paint and a brush. After visits to a cave and
prominent rock formations Meyer neatly painted names in black on
a white background, and identified the names of the cave, various
chambers and surface features. This raises the interesting ethical
question: When do graffiti become valuable historical records?
By 1944 The Moles had visited, named, listed and described very
briefly 78 caves, the longest being Ronan’s Well95 and Robin Hood
Cavern96,97,98,99. Many of the others are little more than rock shelters. In
1941 they made the first descent of the 10m pitch into Oread Halls using a
rope ladder. By 1958 the number of known caves had increased to eighty
one100. Table 1 lists the dates of their first visits to each particular cave.
Moore’s list and descriptions of the Kalk Bay caves published in
the Mountain Club Journal for 1944 attracted much interest114. He was
clearly well acquainted with Meyer’s work, and gives credit to him. In
1952 the Muizenberg and False Bay Holiday Resorts Association wished
to reprint the article in a publicity brochure, but nothing immediately
came of the idea115. The Moles’ and Moore’s efforts undoubtedly
contributed to the popular guide to those caves published in 1955116,117,
which remained in print for two decades.
This guide book encouraged visitors to the Kalk Bay caves. In
December 1957 the Mountain Club Committee noted with concern the
easy access, and that it was possible to drive a car from what is now Ou
Kaapse Weg “over the Kalk Bay Mountain to the Kalk Bay Caves”. It
resolved that the City Council be exhorted to erect a locked gate, with
keys issued only to Municipal employees on official business118.
Shortly after the South African Spelælological Association had been
formed in 1954, its members began to visit the southern Peninsula
caves. Two decades later Anthony Hitchcock and Peter Swart started
to survey the caves.
Ronan’s Well: 1955
Towards the end of 1955 Michael McAdam noted a draught at the
“Narrows” immediately inside Ronan’s Well, and forced his way
through. Subsequent visits the following year revealed 370m of
surveyed passage, still the longest cave in the southern Peninsula119.
In June 1980 a further short extension was made by enlarging the very
narrow terminal passage120.
106
Hydrax Caverns: 1959
During 1959 Stuart MacPherson found the previously unremarked and
“not very long” Hydrax Caverns at the northwest end of Ridge Peak121.
Echo Halt and extension: 1983
During January and April 1983 Chris Larkin, Anthony Hitchcock and
Peter Swart extended Echo Halt and surveyed 130m of passage122.
Devil’s Pit: 1983
On 3 January 1983 Chris Larkin and Anthony Hitchcock entered
Devil’s Pit (Fig.5) and dug the lower entrance, then surveyed the 125m
of passage123.
Boomslang Cave: 1982
In June 1982 Anthony Hitchcock and Dave Eckles made the third survey
of Boomslang Cave, and the first of the adjacent White Dome Grotto.
While surveying the latter they noticed water disappearing down a shaft.
A visit to Boomslang confirmed that the two caves were connected.
Perusal of that survey (761m) prompted survey of the adjacent Avernus
and Wessels Grotto (185m), but no physical connection was found124.
Ystervark Grot: 1980
The 100m Ystervark Grot (Fig.5) was surveyed in 1980 by David
Eckles and Anthony Hitchcock125.
Muizenberg Cave (=Kliphuis) and The Labyrinth: 1980 et seq.
Muizenberg Cave (244m) and the nearby Labyrinth (275m) and voiceconnected Noonday Rest (19m) were described, and surveyed in 1980
and 1982, by David Eckles and Anthony Hitchcock126,127.
Broken Pot Grotto, Commemoration Hall Cave and
Johalvin Cave: 1984
During May 1984 Anthony Hitchcock, Peter Swart and Jean-Paul van
Belle explored and surveyed these three short adjacent caves on Ridge
Peak. Some digging by Jean-Paul van Belle opened the connection
between Broken Pot Grotto and Commemoration Hall Cave (50m). The
Johalvin Cave survey revealed 40m of passage128.
Search and rescue
Newspapers and guide books undoubtedly encouraged untrained and unfit
visitors to the Table Mountain and Kalk Bay caves. As early as 1924 many
people were noted to be walking from Kalk Bay to the caves129. In 1952
Mountain Club members debated the desirability of including Wynberg
Cave in the Table Mountain Guide book, leading to a compromise. “After
discussion it was agreed that directions to the Wynberg Caves should be
included, but that a warning as to the dangers should also be printed”130.
The position of Wynberg Cave, with the safety warning but no description,
was published that year131 with reprints in 1966132, 1972133 and 1983134.
Date
Cave
Incident
09 July 1964
Above Kalk Bay Missing boys not found; caves searched136
27 May 1965
Devil’s Pit
Fell in and broke arm137
20 June 1965
Devil’s Pit
Trapped on a ledge; no injury138,139
31 May 1971
Grootkop
Walker fell 10m; minor injuries140,141
27 September 1976 Devil’s Pit
Walker fell in; no injury142
30 July 1978
Ronan’s Well
Lights failed143
29 January 1979
Ronan’s Well
Lost in cave; lights failed144
02 April 1986
Devil’s Pit
Fell 8m, taken to hospital145
12 October 1986
Devil’s Pit
Fell 10m, killed146
28 October 1990
Ronan’s Well
Slipped, leg wedged; no injury147
Pre-November 1991 Above Kalk Bay Trapped 36 hours148
19 August 1991
Oread Halls
Solo caver fell; minor injury149
28 September 1992 Ronan’s Well
Lost in cave; lights failed150
27 September 1994 Wynberg Cave
Lady fell down pitch; minor injuries151
09 December 1994 Ronan’s Well
Seven boy scouts lost in cave152
18 April 1998
Muizenberg Cave One visitor fell, rescued
Winter 2000
Muizenberg Cave Dog rescued; missing for a week153
20 May 2000
Ronan’s Well
Slipped and wedged; no injury154,155
10 November 2004 Ronan’s Well
Lost; found and rescued after 9 hours156
27 March 2005
Ronan’s Well
3 cavers became lost
02 May 2005
Robin Hood Cave Solo caver became lost
21 October 2005
Kalk Bay Caves Person lost; not found
5 ill-equipped people abseiled down the
23 July 2006
Wynberg Cave
long pitch entrance, and failed to find the
easy exits157
11 September 2008 Crack O’Doom
Walker fell into the cave158
12 December 2011 Giant’s Workshop Two reported missing; not in the cave159
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Table 2: Cape Peninsula cave rescues135. E&OE.
28
Considering how many people live within easy reach of the caves, it is
remarkable that there have been very few rescues and only one death. Most
rescued cavers had got lost; a few sustained minor injuries (Table 2).
30
Discussion
29
31
It appears that until the South African Spelæological Association had
been formed in 1954 cave exploration in Cape Peninsula had been done
in ignorance of that done overseas. The first mention in the literature cited
below of cave exploration overseas appeared in 1956. The Association
published a Newsletter, quickly followed by its Bulletin, which still
appears. The Newsletter was sent to overseas caving organisations,
which led to contact with the British Speleological Association, the
Cave Exploration Group of Australia and the London Speleological
Group166. Further contacts were made by one of the Transvaal Section
members, Don Tritton, who had been exploring caves in England. He
noted that the techniques used for cave exploration were very similar to
those used in England167, which confirms that the cave explorers learned
their techniques from the members of the Mountain Club.
The South African Spelæological Association has since expanded
its overseas contacts by exchanging its Bulletin with many similar
organisations overseas, and through its membership of the International
Speleological Union.
32
Acknowledgments
45
The assistance of Messrs Anthony Hitchcock, Peter Swart and Ron Zeeman
is gratefully recorded. Ron Zeeman produced Figures 1, 2 and 5, and
Professor Jean-Paul van Belle kindly scanned Figures 4, 6, 7 and 8.
References and Endnotes
Where no reference is given, the information came from the Mountain Club
hut visitors’ books (University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Dept.
BC1421).
The Cape Peninsula survey is published on the Trignometrical Survey
1:50000 sheets 3318CD and 3418AB & AD.
1
De Klerk, V, December 2012. A new discovery or two on Table Mountain.
Cape Peninsula Spelæological Association Newsletter, pp. 6–8.
2
Marker, M E and Swart, P G, 1995. Pseudokarst in the Western Cape, South
Africa: its palaeoenvironmental significance. Cave and Karst Science,
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3
Penny, J, 1815. The life and adventures of Joshua Penny pp.29–36. (New
York: published by the author; reprinted 1982: South African Library.)
4
(Searle, J), 1892. Cape Times, 11 January, p.3.
5
The Mountain Cave. Cape Times, 19 January 1892, p.3.
6
An Interesting climb. Cape Times, 09 October 1894, p.5.
7
Wilson, A M, 1900. Table Mountain, the Fountain Gorge. The Mountain
Club Annual (6), 21–22.
8
Crump, W H, 1958. A cavern which sheltered me from storms. Journal of
the Mountain Club of South Africa, (61), 24–29.
9
Scott, M, 2009. The Mystery of Joshua Penney’s cave on Table Mountain.
Journal of the Mountain Club of South Africa, (112), 46–48.
10
University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Dept. BC1421 E6.2.13:
Mountain Club Table Mountain Hut Members’ Register 1984–1994.
11
Hitchcock, A N, 1984. The Vivarium. Bulletin of the South African
Spelæological Association, 25, 24–25; survey.
12
University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Dept. BC1421 E6.1:
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33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
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58
59
60
61
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Diary of Henry Lewis Harris.
The Ranger’s visitors’ book, with entries made on site at the time, states 17
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Both diaries have differing entries for 10 and 17 December 1893 respectively.
Crump, W H, 1934. Climbers of the past. A survey of the Table Mountain
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Craven, S A, 2007. History of cave exploration in the Northern Pennines
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1:50000 3418AB & AD Cape Peninsula 1981 edition (Mowbray: Surveys &
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Cape Archives Depot 3/KBY 175 733.
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National Library of South Africa, Cape Town branch: MSC77 4: In April
1932 Divine was a leader-writer for the Cape Times.
University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Dept. BC1421 J2.22
108. I am grateful to Andrew Lewis Esq. who found this item.
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Kalk Bay’s Wonder Cave. Cape Argus, 19 January 1926, p.14.
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Named for Leslie van Blerk.
Named for the vegetation.
Found by Leslie van Blerk.
Bobby was not a Mole. The painted forename, and date of discovery, were
noted by the Moles on 31 October 1939.
Named for Bettie Strydom.
Named for Edward McKracken.
Found by Alvin Meyer; named for Polly D?
Wiener’s Day was the first Monday in October, viz. 02 October 1936.
Named for Princess Beatrice of Holland.
Rope ladder descent by John Meyer, Phil Hitchcock and Basil Harris.
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survey dated 1979 and 1980 by A N Hitchcock and D Eckles.
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113
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117
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123
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127
128
129
130
131
132
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135
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145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
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(walks, caves and camp sites) 15 pp. + map (Cape Peninsula Fire Protection
Committee.)
University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Dept. BC1421 C3.9.2:
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University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Dept. BC1421 B1.10
116: Mountain Club minute book 1955–1961.
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Muizenberg. Bulletin of the South African Spelæological Association, pp.16,
21.
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Larkin, C J, 1982. Devil’s Pit. Bulletin of the South African Spelæological
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Muizenberg. Bulletin of the South African Spelæological Association, pp.16,
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20.
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Anon, 1952. Table Mountain Guide, p.72 (Cape Town: Mountain Club of
S.A.; 2nd. ed.).
Anon, 1972. Table Mountain Guide, p.75 (Cape Town: Mountain Club of
S.A.; 3rd. ed.).
Anon, 1972. Table Mountain Guide, p.76 (Cape Town: Mountain Club of
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Anon, 1983. Table Mountain Guide, pp.79–70 (Cape Town: Mountain Club
of S.A.; 5th. ed.).
Andrew Lewis Esq., Mountain Club of South Africa, Cape Town Section,
has kindly supplied many of these incident dates.
Cape Times, 15 July 1964, p.1.
Cape Times, 28 May 1965, p.
Cape Argus, 21 June 1965, p.2.
Cape Times, 21 June 1965, p.2.
Cape Times, 01 June 1971, p.23.
Journal of the Mountain Club of South Africa (1971) (75), 126.
Cape Times, 28 September 1976, p.1.
Cape Times, 01 August 1978, p.1.
Cape Times, 30 January 1979, p.3.
Cape Times, 03 April 1986, p.1.
Cape Times, 13 October 1986, p.1.
Cape Times, 29 October 1990, p.1.
Southern Suburbs Tatler, 07 November 1991, p.6.
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Argus, 28 September 1994, p.4.
Weekend Argus 10/11 December 1994 p. 1.
Vlok, J, September 2000. Cave rescue – every dog has its day. Cape
Peninsula Spelæological Association Newsletter, p.6.
(Swart, P G), June 2000, Ronan’s Well rescue. Cape Peninsula Spelæological
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Cape Argus, 22 May 2000, pp.1–2.
Cape Times, 11 November 2004, p.3.
Cape Times, 24 July 2006, p.6.
Weekend Argus, 12 September 2008, p.10.
S A Craven personal observation.
University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Dept. BC1421 H31.
Mountain Club Annual, 1910, (13), opp. p.74; reprinted Cape Times, 03
February 1913. p.11.
University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Dep. BC1421 JC.10
94–95.
University of Cape Town Manuscripts and Archives Dep. BC1421 B1.5
54.
Cape Argus, 19 October 1923, p.13.
Original kindly loaned by A N Hitchcock Esq.
Anon, 1956. Bulletin of the South African Spelæological Association,
Vol.1(1), opp. 4, 7.
Tritton, D, 1959. British Caving. Bulletin of the South African Spelæological
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