Jamaican Caving Notes

Report on Visit to Worthy Park Cave-1. Prepared by: Andreas Haiduk, Chief Hydrologist, Water Resources Authority

We left Riverhead Cave and headed for the Worthy Park caves. Again, we had to cross a river which is mapped as the Rio Cobre. The river disappears in a sink. While we crossed the river, we heard something splashing and we saw ripples on the water. The water was very turbid and we would not be able to detect any approaching animal in time. So, we hurriedly left the river and climbed the cliff face until reaching the cave.

This cave displayed totally different features from Riverhead and St. Clair. While St. Clair was swarming with cockroaches, this cave showed a much more diverse insect population, headed by crickets, followed by centipedes, spiders and a number of other insects. Quite interesting. The air was perfectly clear and we simply loved this cave after having experienced St. Clair. We were trying to enter a number of pits but had to realize that in order to explore this cave, much more time and more length of rope would be required. This cave remains on the agenda.

To figure out the source of the sweet smelling water, I did some reconnaissance after having exited the cave. By the way, we did not go through the river again. I wonder why? The river itself was just turbid (sediment load), but had no distinct smell. A small dirt track lead away from the main road, and I noticed surface runoff following the course of the track. Several small surface streams came from the adjacent cane fields all having a similar colour (light brown). But, a darkish grey stream appeared from nowhere, having a pungent odour. All streams converged in a channel moving away from the caves in a southeasterly direction. This channel disappeared in the foliage. A follow up check in my office revealed that the channel ends in a mapped depression. The area being underlain by limestone rock is known for having sinkholes. I assume that this waste stream (!) for any better word disappears in the underground and mixes somewhere underground with the much larger volume of the Rio Cobre sinking just below the Worthy Park caves. And all streams together discharge at Riverhead cave, hence the smell there.

In conclusion I am looking forward to explore many more caves as it allows me to appreciate the great geography Jamaica offers. Thanks Stefan, thanks Jan for being great companions on this trip.