Post by L Roebuck on Oct 14, 2006 8:27:59 GMT -5
Cavers hope to introduce management techniques to South African cave systems
By Stella Davis
CARLSBAD — Words such as "awesome, fantastic, excellent and beyond our wildest dreams" come spilling out from three South African cavers as they prepared to descend into Parker Ranch Cave, located south of White's City.
The Parker Ranch Cave was the fourth cave the three men had visited since they arrived in New Mexico on Oct. 2, and they had several more to visit before heading back home Oct. 18.
Neil Norquoy, owner of Wild Cave Adventures in Krugersdorp, located near Johannesburg, South Africa; Stephen Greeff, a friend of Norquoy's and fellow caver; and Fredrick Van Der Merwe; a cave guide who works for Norquoy; said the trip to New Mexico is a fact-finding mission to learn about cave management from the federal agencies that manage public lands and the cave systems beneath the lands they manage.
They said the caves they have explored in New Mexico have been a great source of enjoyment.
"There is no comparison to the caves in New Mexico. They are spectacular," Norquoy said.
The trip to New Mexico to do some caving and learn about cave management came about in 2005 after a segment of the CBS reality series, "The Amazing Race," was filmed in the cave known as "Bat Cave" where Norquoy provides the ultimate caving experience for novice cavers.
The Amazing Race starts in a U.S. city and teams must follow clues and instructions to get them to a checkpoint in places around the world. They eventually race back to the finish line in the U.S.
Full Article
By Stella Davis
CARLSBAD — Words such as "awesome, fantastic, excellent and beyond our wildest dreams" come spilling out from three South African cavers as they prepared to descend into Parker Ranch Cave, located south of White's City.
The Parker Ranch Cave was the fourth cave the three men had visited since they arrived in New Mexico on Oct. 2, and they had several more to visit before heading back home Oct. 18.
Neil Norquoy, owner of Wild Cave Adventures in Krugersdorp, located near Johannesburg, South Africa; Stephen Greeff, a friend of Norquoy's and fellow caver; and Fredrick Van Der Merwe; a cave guide who works for Norquoy; said the trip to New Mexico is a fact-finding mission to learn about cave management from the federal agencies that manage public lands and the cave systems beneath the lands they manage.
They said the caves they have explored in New Mexico have been a great source of enjoyment.
"There is no comparison to the caves in New Mexico. They are spectacular," Norquoy said.
The trip to New Mexico to do some caving and learn about cave management came about in 2005 after a segment of the CBS reality series, "The Amazing Race," was filmed in the cave known as "Bat Cave" where Norquoy provides the ultimate caving experience for novice cavers.
The Amazing Race starts in a U.S. city and teams must follow clues and instructions to get them to a checkpoint in places around the world. They eventually race back to the finish line in the U.S.
Full Article
