Preping for a mission

Tomorrow, the six-person kayak team is combining forces with a 3-person caving team to execute the mission of our dreams. We are leaving at 8:00 am to drive to the end of the road and then hike in to the town of Tuke that Trip and I previously explored.

In Tuke, we will drop into a sinkhole and descend 1500ft in about 1.5 miles to the mouth of the cave. The mouth is amazing - a huge archway with a gorgeous crystal blue river flowing out. The plan is to drop into the cave at the top, work our way though paddling along the way and then paddle/swim out into daylight.

About 100 meters below the cave exit, the river flows over a series of cascades that are about 800 ft from top to bottom. Trip and I scouted the drops out last week and all of them go except for the last drop of about 50 ft or so.

After the waterfalls, the kayak team will paddle 3 days out to the ocean, where we will be picked up by a freighter and taken back to civilization. The caving team will hike out and we will meet up in time to celebrate the PNG independence holiday on Sept. 15th.

This should be a good one folks; an update and pictures to come when we make it out in 1-2 weeks. Cheers!