A year after the previous trip we hit Tulum, Mexico again. Couldn’t stay away for long. We usually go in the South African winter (June, July) for a few reasons… One being that our dive site Komati Springs is quieter and we can shut up and go; another is that it is not busy in Mexico as we don’t like crowds.
Manni brought his daughter Jessica along and she started her Cavern course there. What a privilege. So our daily excursions were grown up’s š did a full penetration dive, then Don would take Jessica on her cavern portion and do the drills and skills while Manni hovered close by like an anxious parent. Ok, not true – he was there to record all her baby steps – so he says…
On this trip there were no in-between breaks, so the ears started dictating breaks. We have observed the fact previously that non-professionals don’t last as long in the waters as professionals. And by professionals I mean dive instructors who do this on a full time basis. Just like muscles, ears also have to be trained to last the journey.
It is advisable to have a 2 day break between diving, but people are usually committed to work and only have limited time to travel, dive and get back. Don and I extended this trip again and did some sight-seeing. This time going South from Tulum. I will do a write-up of that portion separately.
Komati Springs Elephant Escapades
Exiting our site sometimes has its adventures. Besides forging rivers after the rains, yesterday we were challenged by Master Elephant. Either he lost his herd, or was at the kicking out age (called musth state)*. He was a bit stressed and as we passed him, he had to challenge us just in case we were the bad guys. I think it was a matter of āattack before being attackedā in this caseā¦
*The below is an extract from BBC Earth. It is an interesting read:
There was a mistaken belief that young males get kicked out of their families. But this came from observations of males that had left their own family and joined another, “where they are not as welcome as they would be with their own family,” Poole explains. Matriarchs and coalitions of females were seen chasing young males, and people thought the males were being shunned by their own families.
Komati Springs Cave Diving
You are entering another environment. I started diving this cave in 1996 and fell in love with it. People think of a cave as a dark and scary place. Yes, itās dark; it can be the darkest place on this earth. But actually, you are taking a light that allows you to see as far as that light can penetrate. Most of the time itās like being in a crystal-clear palace under the ground.
For more, please visit the video done by Jason Boswell.
Mexico Cave Diving 2018
After a very long 48-hour journey starting in South Africa with a 3-hour drive, we faced an early (ok, not too early) wakeup call on the first dive day in Tulum with no sympathy for jetlag. As those whoāve met me know, just hand Andre her coffee from around the corner; make sure it is strong, and donāt speak until it has been consumed!
We sent Manni ahead as the advance party to a) reconnaissance, b) to acclimatize so someone is sensible on the ground at least, and c) to keep the humour rolling. All survived.
The dives were superb and exceeded everyoneās expectations. It would be a difficult vote as to which site or dive was considered the best. Certainly one stood out as the most āinterestingā (we shall leave it there to protect the innocent.. or if you pay me enough).
Concerning the group, we chose very wisely; there was the driver who also doubled as the body guard and videographer, the nutty professor (font of all knowledge), the poison tester (read margarita tester), the joker (cannot cope without the joker), the rookie (so the rest of us look professional), the super-star-cum-director and most importantly, she who must be obeyed! The overall factor was all were cave divers.
Our pet project was a take-home video of half an hour featuring all divers in equal parts. Ok, a bit of an exaggeration because Manni the videographer hardly featured in front of the camera, I was the token see-the-rump-in-the-video model (much like when you go to a nature reserve and all photos you go home with are of the animalās rumps as they flee across the grasslands). I was also the editor and you have me to thank for cutting the 30-minute version (yawn) down to 6 drooling minutes, which you can check out below. Alas, Bruce, Leo, Willem and Alouette was in the other dive group so there were just bits of them like passing ships in the night. Just enough to prove that they were indeed there.
The above-water touristy things were not the priority on this trip, but there was enough of it to have fun and dry out the ears. It made for nice diversions that can be joked about forever and a day (again, for the right amount I can be persuaded to tell all). The forecast re meals in town was generally: ā99% chance of margaritasā. No one got poisoned as Mr. Poison Tester did a superb job.
Will we go again? For sure! When? Mexico July 2019 here we come!
Komati Springs
We are truly blessed to live in this wonderful place. There are not many habitations left on this planet where the only noise you hear is the roar of lions, calling of jackal, bark of baboons and trumpet of elephants. The neighbours at home are a little too much, with their constant croaking love calls (toads) and tweeting (birds). Still, the toads do a great job annihilating the mosquitos.
Getting to our property is fraught with traffic jams. Many a time there are delays because the giraffe did not want to get off the road, or the lions were sunbathing in front of our gates.
Our space has a myriad of functions with the main one being a scuba dive site. We personally focus on technical dive training ā like cave, rebreathers, deco diving and deep mixed gasses like trimix. The site is open for recreational divers as well. There is an open hole with training grids, and the cave divers have a three-dimensional cave system to play and practice in. You can read more about the diving on the Komati Springs website.
Another function here is what we call rope work which includes abseiling off a cliff of about 10 meters (33 feet) and down a mine shaft where you get to water at 20 meters (66 feet). The shaft has been rigged to be able to simulate other sites in Southern Africa that we visit for diving purposes. Practice makes perfect.
There is game on site, like wildebeest, impala, kudu, eland, waterbuck, duikertjies, warthog, civets, servals, and our four horses who think they are wildebeest. They are lucky beasts indeed as they can do what they like when they like. The predators and elephants surround us but are on the outside of the fence, so all is safe inside to wander around on foot.
As we have grasslands, forests, abundant water and mountains, the birdlife is incredible. Apparently over 250 species. Walks on the property is heaven. We often take a beer or some wine, walk to a nice spot, and watch animals and the sunset.
The local entertainment is the troop of vervet monkeys who come along every so often to drink from the small stream in front of our house. The monkey kiddies are just like human kiddies ā they play on every available object; the favourite one being our vehicle. This is where tag and wrestling matches take place.
We like to share the site so if you are in the area, give us a shout. We do have security, so booking is important.
Shexit 