Kristy: Bon Voyage III – Lifou, New Caledonia

The second island we reached was Lifou in Caledonia. Lifou was a very stunning island with soft white sand and clear sky blue waters. We had water fights, hired canoes for $5 each and paddled around the beautiful clear waters. The water was a little warm but still cool to the skin- it was amazing being able to see everything under water without any snorkelling gear, we could sometimes even catch a few glimpses of fish!

Whilst exploring the island on foot, we ran into some tourists that motioned us to a entranceway to what looked like a jungle. They told us we had to go- that it was “the best experience ever”. Intrigued by what the other tourists had to say, we all agreed to go. Little did we know there was an entry fee of $25! All of us grumbled and begrudgingly forked out the money because there was nothing to see but trees from the entrance- none of us were certain it would be as good as what the strangers had said.

The pathway from the entry way was a rocky dirt trail which we were all unprepared for as most of us were only equipped with flip-flops. Unfortunately, one of my friends tripped on a tree root which resulted in a huge gash on her leg. Nevertheless, we all soldiered on to get our money’s worth. Towards the end of the trail, it became even more rockier and we realised that we were entering into a cave.

Many of us were uncertain of what it would entail as it was very dark and claustrophobic, we had to feel our way down and constantly make sure we had a firm footing as we travelled deeper into the cave. Whilst we were all swallowed into darkness, other tourists were walking back out reiterating what others before them had said, "It is awesome! You have to go." Spurred by what they said, we went deeper until we could go no further and found a local New Caledonian with a torch at the end of the channel. He said, "Welcome!" with a great big smile and gestured in front of him. We all peered downwards and realised that there was water!

It appeared to be a bottomless cave that was filled with water! People one after the other were screaming whilst free-falling in. Those of us who were not faint-hearted followed suit. Staring down into the seemingly bottomless cave was unnerving, the fear of hitting one of the rocks on the way down or drowning seemed imminent but once the initial fear was overcome by jumping off the edge- you realised the fear was unjustified. Although your feet could not reach the bottom and you had to stay afloat with your feet. It was an exhilarating feeling. The water in the cave was fairly cold but not icy so it was not uncomfortable, there was no wind in the cave so none of us who were soaked felt cold either. 

We all remember this island fondly because of this cave that we unintentionally stumbled upon.