This was our first time attempting cave exploration without a guide. Knowing it’s very slippery inside and there’s no cell signal for emergencies - extremely dangerous - we set a rule for ourselves: if we could technically climb through, we’d go; whenever we encountered sections requiring walking in water, we’d immediately retreat. The caves have fixed ladders installed at elevation changes, so that’s not a concern, but water really requires caution.

For safety, we first walked in from the start, returning when we hit water. Then we drove to the endpoint and walked in from the other end, again stopping at water. The sense of solitude is really different here - at other glowworm caves there are many tourists, so even though it’s completely dark, you know someone would come if you yelled, making it less scary. Here it was completely different.