Die Hel A Guano Cave

Peter Swart, 1996

Cave A, the most conspicuous of the three caves, consists of a large passage, of approximately rectangular cross section, reachinng 147m into the mountain. Approximately 80m from the enbtrance is a chamber, the roof of which is approximately 15m high and the lower 8m is filled with bat guano and boulders. A stream issues from a crack at the very end of the cave, flows along the wall and disappears under the guano. It reappears on the eastern side, and flows out of the cave entrance, into the Groot Kliphuis river. There are a few small side passages, but these are little more than narrow cracks, when compared to the main passage.

Amphipods and white flatworms worms were found in the stream, and many insects and spiders were collected. A small, mixed colony of fruit bats and Cape Horseshoe bats inhabit the main chamber, and the entrance passage of the cave. The floor of the first 40m of the cave is filled with drift wood, which lies up to half a metre deep in places.

⮤ Back to Groot Winterhoek

Surveys

Survey

Survey (Location)

⮤ Back to Groot Winterhoek