|
Certainly one of the wildest and remotest of all tourist destinations in Botswana is the Gcwihaba Caves. These beautiful caves are situated 50km south east of Aha Hills and are set in the same undulating Kalahari dunes. There are two unspectacular low ridges of sand-covered rock at the entrance to the caves, but an enchanting spectacular curtain of stalactites is the first of many wonders inside this fascinating formation. The caves are a labyrinth of linked passages and caverns, which exist on two levels, one raised several metres above the other. The large bat population sometimes encountered inside is noisy, but totally harmless. The system of caves contains a maze of passages which lead to bizarre rock formations, flowstones of various beautiful and subtle colours, stalactites, inlets, hallways, apertures and "frozen" waterfalls. These magnificent chambers and formations, stalagmites and stalactites which reach up to 10m in height or length, were all carved and formed by dripping water, which seeped through and dissolved dolomite rock. Although completely isolated this unspoilt area is worth exploring for a few days. It is necessary to be completely self-sufficient as the cave is very remote. In the !Kung language, the name of this cavern system in the Gcwihaba Hills means "hyaena's hole". The Gcwihaba Caverns were first brought to European attention in the mid-1930s when the !Kung showed them to Ghanzi farmer Martinus Drotsky, and for years they were known as Drotsky's Caves. As with many caves, Gcwihaba has a legend of treasure; the fabulously wealthy founder of Ghanzi, Hendrik Matthys van Zyl, is said to have stashed a portion of his fortune here in the late 1800s.
How to get there
You must have a 4WD vehicle. Take the Toteng/Sehitwa road out of Maun. Continue on to Tsao. (Sehitwa to Sepopa is fully tarmac now). Just after Tsao (about 1.5 kilometres) there is a National Museum signpost reading "To Gcwihabe Caverns". Turn left here onto a sand track, which continues, for approximately 130 kilometres. Parts of the track will have deep sand and will be rough going. You will pass through undulating wooded terrain, which seems to go on forever. Clock the 130 kilometres on your speedometre and you will eventually descend a slight slope, after which there is a second National Museum signpost indicating a left-hand turn. This continues for about 30 kilometres, following a dry riverbed, and leads up to the caves. If you get as far as Nxainxai, you have gone too far. Ask for directions to the caves at the village. As you get closer to the caves, you will see a kind of slope rising from the ground and two low ridges of sand covered with rock. This is the entrance to the caves.
Visiting the Caverns Gcwihaba has two main entrances, 250m apart, but the route through is more circuitous and hence longer. People that are not familiar with the caves, should use the north entrance and main route, which is signposted and marked by strings inside. Visitors must carry several strong torches (and batteries), as well as emergency light sources such as matches and cigarette lighters. The easiest passage through begins at the lower entrance, which is hidden halfway up the hill from the end of the road. After entering the large chamber, you'll proceed down an increasingly steep passageway. The only hairy bit is a short vertical climb down into a pit, then up the other side to a shelf, where there's a tight squeeze before you emerge in a large room. The rest of the 1 km route traverses a series of rooms and passages with lots of enticing side passages leading into the blackness. Midway through watch for several species of bat. The most common is the large Commerson's leaf-nosed bat. As you approach the other entrance, you'll see light filtering in above a steep rubble slope. After passing through the cave, it's pleasant to climb to the hilltop and watch the sunset over the violet expanses of the Kalahari. The caverns are utterly dry, but there are pleasant campsites beneath the thorn trees around the entrances. Around the upper entrance, beware of the networks of aardvark burrows; vehicles get bogged and walkers may find themselves face down or buried up to their knees in sand.
Copyright
Department of Tourism of Botswana |
