Tag: Papua New Guinea

I took a step further into the darkness. The floor was cold and slippery on my bare feet. The child holding the light was a few steps in front of me, through another small opening. I squeezed through on my hands and knees and the boy shone the torch further in. I could see the water a few metres ahead. I jumped into the cool fresh water and ducked my head underneath; I hadn’t washed properly in a couple of days.

A villager said something in Pidgin I didn’t understand. Francis translated for me. “You are probably the first white man in these caves” he said. That’s when I realised that this wasn’t normal traveling. What I had done and seen over the previous few days isn’t just something that you can buy on a tour package, or plan to do before you leave. This was a once in a lifetime adventure I had stumbled upon. Something I could only have dreamed about back home.