BUNI AYU CAVING : JOURNEY TO THE UNDERGROUND NATURAL MUSEUM

(May 25^th, 2014)

The dawn broke. A gray of light slowly seeped through the interlacing bamboo splits of the small room we rented in this small village. There was no sound but the loud chirping of the night insects. Our simple homestay at Kertaangsana Village, Sukabumi looked desolate and dwarfed by the towering pine trees. The bamboo door creaked in protest as we opened it. The chill air assaulted us as we trudged our way to the meeting point.

Soon, the fifteen first-time cavers, including my husband and I, enthusiastically prepared our gears, slipping into the red and yellow wearpacks, donning the knee-high thick rubber booths, fastening the helmets into position and clipping the LED light into them. A small water-proof bag slung on my back containing pocket camera and one mineral bottle. Once finished, we looked like a bunch of miners ready for their morning shift.

Kang Iwan and Kang Oi, our experienced cave guides explained that we would soon explore the longest cavernous walls of Buni Ayu. It would take approximately four hours to trek. The passage is formerly about 3,500 meters long with 5 to 6 hours to trek. Sadly, last year or so, some of the cave wall collapsed, cutting the length to 2,500 meters and the rest is inaccessible for cavers.

Unlike the shortest passageway that is about 200 meters long known as the horizontal path which we have explored the night earlier in such relaxing and picnic atmosphere, this part would be much more adrenaline-pumping and treacherous. The terrain is hard to trek, as we would enter the underground cavernous maze by vertical path. Our guides warned us to follow their instructions closely.

A brief history lesson passed on. Kang Iwan Guha was dead serious when he presented his lecture. As if small children, our eyes beamed with interest and curiosity. We listened with all ears.

Located in Kampung Cipicung, Nyalindung, Sukabumi – East Java, Buni Ayu Cave comprises part of the Nyalindung karst formation. Karst is the combination of limestone, gypsum and other rocks that dissolve in natural acids underground. It takes hundreds of years before the cave formed with its rich ancient ornaments of stalactites and stalagmites in various shapes and colors.

Formerly known as “Guha Siluman” or Demon Cave by locals due to its supernatural element, people living nearby were convinced that the underground cavern was home to various ghosts and spirits. Then the cave is renamed to Buni Ayu to attract visitors after properly managed under the auspices of the Forestry Department. “Buni” means hidden in Sundanese, while “ayu” means beautiful, referring to its remote and beautiful underground landscapes. The perfectly covered beauty once held a title as the best cave system in South East Asia.

Our jaw dropped. We gaped in awe. As first time cavers, we would explore such phenomenal cave! Our body is burning with excitement tingling sensation!

RKT Kho, George Robert, Michael Chassier and Seveau Arnoult were the first to map the cave compounds in 1982. They estimated the cave to be more than 60 million years old. Wow….so ancient! It sent goose bumps in my skin.

The four were experts in speleology, the study of caves. The depth of the cave ranges from 20 to 50 meters. The cave has at least 83 chambers but only a small number of them have been explored. That’s why Kang Iwan once again warned us to never wandering alone the cave without a guide. Then since 1994, the cave has been open to the public.

Finishing the lecture, the journey to the center of the earth rolled onJ. We all marched like high-spirited soldiers with proud gaits to the cave entrance. The undulating rows of wild grasses were electric green—that shimmering, wonderful green under the brilliant golden morning sun. Dark pine trees towered over the rows of bamboo houses, their silvery leaves dripping with dews. The smell of cooking herbs and boiling pots wafted through the air. The mothers have already started their morning routine to prepare breakfast apparently.

After approximately 20 minutes of marching, Kang Iwan halted us to a stop. We looked around in total bewilderment. Nothing was visible ahead of us but a bunch of wild tall grasses and trees along creaking stonewall!

To our utter surprise, our guides ushered us down to small creak under the stonewall. Seeing this tiny hole barely fit one person only for an entrance, my expectations were suddenly not very high. I slid down less eagerly.

I soon changed my mind. This is where my first real adventure begins!

Using a tiny rope tied to the stone and the waist of our guide, we were hoisted down one by one in the 18 meters deep hole. Suspended in thin air for 5 minutes or so, I felt the adrenaline rushing to my body. The sensation was burning and exhilarating. I was slowly lowered down. I didn’t have to worry about anything at all as the pull of gravity wrapped me with wonders.

Suspended in the height, I could see the very landscape of this ancient cavernous chamber. It seemed to be waiting for something, something that had been foretold for thousands of years. I could hear the sound of rushing water from what seemed hundreds of feet below. This passage had once led those seeking the mysteries deep within the bowels of the earth. Once we were all down, we huddled together like little Hobbits in the deep dungeon of the Goblins Dwelling.

Our guides led us on. We trailed deeper into the darkness. The darkness in the cave exceeded when we close our eyes. Without the lamps in our helmets, it was an absolute eternal darkness. Along the way, the path was steeper and more treacherous. We had to navigate carefully, paying close attention to where our feet step on, lest, we slipped and fell into the dark abyss.

Often, we had to wade our way through the underground river. When the current was too wild, we had to walk slowly on the ledge on the cave walls, our hands and feet clambering to find something to hold on to. We absolutely didn’t want to hit and plunge free into the gurgling water underneath.

On the other hand, when the stream was mild, we had to thread in the waist deep water, while avoiding the undulating stalactites and stalagmites around the cavernous paths. Fortunately, there were many friendly alleys to enable us savoring the beautiful ornaments of the cave. With my pocket camera, I tried to capture the dazzling images. Often, I failed as the lightless surrounding did not side with me.

Through the dim light, we could see lakes and waterfalls in the cave, as well as to see the cave with water to form fossil halls and millions ornaments. Silvery-white or brown colored stalactites and stalagmites of all shapes and sizes occupied the chambers. There were even a couple of small waterfalls running down smooth, white rock faces. We were amazed!

Stalactites and stalagmites in this caves have such great variety of shapes, forms, and color that almost each of them is unique in appearance. While trudging along, Kang Iwan explained that their growth rates are so slow that once broken, they cannot recover during a human life span of time! Average growth rates for dripstones (stalactites) are about ½ inch for every 100 years.

Ops, we cringe in horror! Instantly, we withdrew our naughty hands! Yeah, their beauty kept luring us to touch them with greedy lustful appetite. What fools we were! Afterwards, we left those beauties alone. Feeling and touching their eloquence classic wonders with our eyes only!

Thus, stalactites and stalagmites are considered natural heritage objects and are protected by law in most countries, and their collection, mining, and selling is prohibited.

There are also other occupants of the cave, including bats, centipedes, crickets, fish, frogs, lizards, scorpions, shrimps, spiders and snakes. Yet, the cave is not the natural habitat for most of the animals found inside.

Kang Iwan told us that when it rains heavily, storm water usually runs into the cave and brings several animals in and they are left trapped in the cave. Thank God, we did not come across any snakes!

We continued our journey through chambers and narrow, winding corridors full of straw stalactites form along a drop of water and continue growing down from the cave ceiling forming a tubular stalactite, which resembles a drinking straw in appearance. Some grow in thickness and obtain a conical form and some stalactites touch each other to form a drapery with a curtain-like appearance. In some spots, stalagmites stalactites meet to form columns, and several columns create curtains.

Kang Iwan explained that the cave is a natural phenomenon and provides a natural laboratory with all the phenomena circle of life in the cave and the surrounding environment.  Like the museum with the arrangement of the showroom, the caves also provide beauty with ornaments in the form of various layouts are created by natural processes over a period of thousands of years.

The four hours journey was enchanting, filled with adrenaline rush, wonders, and adventure!

Once we approached the exit passage, the terrain was getting monstrous and hideous. Mud was everywhere along the ascended path. Many of us slipped and fell. It was so slippery. We literally wrestled with mud. We clawed, clambered, and fought with our hands and feet to drag our body up.

In the middle of this struggle, my energy was depleted. The knee-deep mud sucked me in as if it was quick sand. No matter how hard I tried, my feet did not budge. Sweats dripped down my face.

Kang Iwan came to my rescue. He pulled me up to the rocky wall, literally dragging me up like a sack of potato, lol. Catching my breath, I had to trudge along. An old rusty wooden ladder of 20 meters lay menacingly ahead of us. Again, I had to clamber my way up carefully, lest I slipped and fell on the rocks below. I swore and cursed to pump the energy!

After what feels like a lifetime climb finally, we came to an end. A faint of light seeped through the hole above. I clambered frantically to catch the light. It was my salvation. Another guide on the exit pulled me up once I reached the ledge. I gratefully thanked him.

Under the burning sun, I could see the first time cavers were caked in mud! We laughed and held a high five in the air! We had conquered the Demon Cave!

The exhaustion is indeed rewarding! It’s an unforgettable journey. I fall in love with caving instantly. I was love struck! Lol.

Indonesia is indeed a nation of beauty with many enchanting reliefs of nature in its every nook and cranny. A lifetime exploration will be able to satiate the hunger for its beauty!

Plato said most people do not see the underlying reality around them. Instead, what they see are mere representations, like shadows on the wall of a cave.