Natures Valley Point 2 Cave

Peter Swart
Other Point Caves

Peter Swart

The other caves in the headland are quite small and uninteresting. Point 1 is a low, 10m long passage used as shelter by dassies and porcupines. The cave has formed along a joint that has been widened by wave action, and later filled in by silt. Point 2 Cave is a completely different type of cave. This was created when a large quartzite boulder cracked, and left an approximately 40m long, 8m high curved passage. The entrance is at the top where the crack intersects with the surface. The floor of the cave is covered in silt that has been washed into the cave. Neither of these caves were surveyed, but drawings were done immediately on completion of the exploration.

Just below Point 2, is a shelf in the bedding planes that has been washed out by the sea. Over the years, soil has washed down the gully next to the shelf, and sealed off the side. This has formed a long low cave, with one wall formed by the scree that has come down the gully. Inside the cave, the sea exploited a weakness and created a side chamber over 2m high. This cave was called Point 3, and has the most potential for extension.

Just past the first headland, the sea has worn a straight, narrow channel between the tilted quartzite beds. Most of the channel is open to the sky, but the last 56m penetrates into the coastal cliff, and forms a cave we called Point 4. The entrance to this cave is visible from the Blue Rocks. The cave is 56m long and is home to a few rock pigeons.

This cave was not surveyed. To the east of Point 3 Cave, is another small bay followed by another headland where Thunder Cave 1 and Thunder Cave 2 are to be found. Thunder Cave 1 is approximately 40m above sea level. The entrance is about 6m wide and 5m high. The caves taper towards the back, where after about 12m, it is only 1.5m high. There are small animal bones mixed with a shell midden in the cave. Water drips down the left hand side of the entrance (looking out). The entrance faces south west, towards Robberg.

Thunder Cave 2 is on the eastern side of the same buttress as Thunder Cave 1. Access to the cave is via SRT. There is a suitable anchor about 30m above the entrance, and a free fall of about 5m into the cave. The cave entrance is about 6m above the sea level, but waves rush in a long a narrow channel, and send spray up to the mouth of the cave. The cave is only 10m long, and the floor rises by about 3m from entrance to the middle of the cave. From there, the passage is another 5m long.

There is an upward sloping side passage, about 12m in length, which terminates in a small, low pit. There were some bat droppings in this section.
Bum Slide Cave

This cave was not surveyed. Is further west from the Thunder Caves is Bum Slide Cave. It has two entrances. One is down through a boulder collapse at an angle of about 45o into a tubular passage. The floor is sandy with scattered stones. The passage is a tubular washout, just bigger than shoulder width. The passage is approximately 15m long, and opens into a 6m wide shelf under a large rock.

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