Semester 1 Outdoor Ed

Caving Reflection

Before my caving experience, if you had mentioned the word caving, I would immediately feel claustrophobic and be opposed to the idea. Claustrophobia simply means an uncomfortable or unhappy feeling caused by being in a situation that limits or restricts  you.  I couldn't let on that I was outside my comfort zone to the students though, not when they were all giving it a go. 

Once inside the damp and darkness, among the cool boulders and sweet smelling earth, it was surprisingly very calm and comforting.  When we turned the lights on our helmets off, glow worms led the way along the paths. Tunnels and tight spots gave way to openings that were big enough to gather and stand in and to say to each other, 'this is awesome'.  Maneuvering your body through thin crevices that don't look like you could possible fit and launching off cave walls to propel yourself a distance upwards and onward to more adventure, were all part of the underground tour of an exciting new world. 

I enjoyed the sparkling minerals that shone in the rocks and that ended up all over me when we surfaced. I loved the trust in the person you were following to call out the best way to tackle the trappings and the trust you had to have in yourself to slide headfirst into the unknown and to just let yourself go. There was a lot of commando crawling, squeezing, leaping, climbing, twisting and shimmying as we made our way through the many hollows. 

Who knew that being outside your comfort zone was going to be so much fun?

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 

2 Timothy 1:17