Five Magical Dives ¦ A Bit of History ¦ How we got to dive Chinhoyi Caves ¦ Our accomodation in Harare

From 30 metres below, you can see the clouds and birds flying over the entrance!

Everything we had heard about diving in Chinhoyi Caves was true. The experience was truly spiritual and so addictive. We ended up doing 5 dives here and we're coming back with caving qualifications to explore further.

After kitting up in the camp ground we walked, hot and sweltering in neoprene and steel, down towards the cave entrance. Our first glimpse of the water was enough to stop us in our tracks. Clambering down a dark tunnel we saw a circle of the most intense blue shimmering up at us. We forgot the heat and the weight on our backs and almost ran down the steps to what is known as the Sleeping Pool of Sinoia (Chinhoyi).
The pull into 22 degrees and 110 metres of gin clear freshwater was so strong that it was a real chore to do check our equipment and put our fins and masks on. What was down there? Would we find human bones where sacrificial slaves had been cast in days of old?

THE DIVES

Heavenly

We dived in and swam over the pool's surface towards a darkened cave where the screeches of bats were echoed around the walls. Glenn wouldn't let us look downwards until we had reached the large stalactite dripping from the centre of the entrance. That was a spectacular moment looking down into endless blue.

The first dive, a deep dive on air to experience the magical splendour of these caves. At a depth where the euphoric sense of freedom and giddiness sets in, we found ourselves inside a cathedral of blue towering walls, intense rays of light blinding us through the hole in the roof. Three sets of exhaust bubbles cascaded upwards along the rock shelves and appeared as torrenting crystal waterfalls. As we made a slow ascent, we looked upwards and white fluffy clouds were seemingly inside the cave. A bird seemed to be flying under the surface of the water. This distortion of nature was not due to our recent narcosis but was the sink hole above the pool surface playing tricks on our eyes.

Our second dive, this time using a Nitrox gas mix of 36% Oxygen (EANX36) to lengthen divetime underwater, took us into some of the caves and tunnels. With a cave penetration qualification, these caves are a haven for adventurous divers....(once you get past the cave full of bat 'guano' that is!) Although the tunnels have been extensively dived and safety ropes have been fixed inside them, the problem is that once inside, you'll never know which rope leads you out again. You come to one cave with 4 tunnels branching off, the next has 3 offshoots etc.. etc.. The only way of penetrating this cave system is to rely on your own reel or you'll never be seen again. The source of Chinhoyi is unconfirmed as yet but the mineral content is apparently similar to Lake Victoria. The water right down to 110 metres remains a constant 22 degrees year round. This is a mystery to be solved according to Glenn Campbell of African Dive Safaris

The third dive was the weirdest and most spiritual of all. A NIGHT DIVE in Chinhoyi Caves was a new experience for all of us. The stars were out in force, the sunken hole and entrance to the Sleeping Pool rang so loudly with the emphasised echoes of bats, frogs and insects that we had to cover our ears as we kitted up. The dive itself was unreal. From 15metres below, we were watching glowing fireflies skit across the surface. The bubble waterfalls looked even more spectacular under torchlight and at the surface, the walls of the caves were alive with dancing reflections of torchlight and water movement. We all stared at the kaleidescopic patterns absolutely mesmorised as we bobbed up and down at the surface. "Who needs drugs when you can dive Chinhoyi" was the apt summation of that dive.

ABOUT CHINHOYI CAVES

The town of Chinhoyi is situated 100km north of Harare on the main road towards Kariba. The area around Chinhoyi is full of limestone, dolomite caves and sinkholes. These caves and tunnels were used by the local Shona tribes in the 16th century for storing grain and for refuge from invading tribes. The largest sinkhole drops to a pool some 20metres below ground level. This is known as the 'Sleeping Pool' of Sinoia (the ancient name for Chinhoyi). The pool is also known as "Chirorodzira" (Pool of the Fallen). In the early 19th century, the locals were often thrown into the pool by invading Ngumi tribes.

Speaking to locals around the area, we found that many believe the walls of the caves hold a powerful spiritual prescence and in the past, when evil was spoken in the caves, the person would simply disappear or wither and die soon after.

Frederick Courtney Selous, famous colonial hunter, found the area occupied by subjects of Chief Chinhoyi in 1887 which accounts for the area's name change.

HOW WE DIVED CHINHOYI CAVES

As the caves are protected by National Parks, you are only allowed to dive there if you are with a Zimbabwean registered dive club/centre. Glen Campbell of African Dive Safaris came highly recommended to us by a good friend who'd recently dived in Chinhoyi. His extensive commercial and sport diving history - ex Canadian Navy diver - made us feel very secure to know he was guiding us and his enthusiasm for diving in these caves had us incredibly excited even before we reached Chinhoyi.

African Dive Safaris is a new venture for Glen and his wife, Nahoko, but is destined to be a winner. Positioned perfectly for the backpacker market, ADS dive centre is within the Shoestrings Resort in Harare. With a combined diving experience of 30 years, Glenn, Nahoko Campbell and Kristine Carter provide on-site PADI training up to Divemaster level. ADS provide Nitrox Gas and training and are presently in training and hope to offer IANTD Technical courses. They are also DAN (Divers Alert Network) O2 providers and instructors. All specialities are offered with an emphasis on Cave Penetration, Night Diving, Deep Diving and Nitrox. In fact there is no emphasis on these specialities at all, we just think you should do them at Chinhoyi Caves as the experience is so incredible!

BUDGET ACCOMODATION IN HARARE

Shoestrings Resort, Harare is part of a resort network in Zimbabwe and Malawi and one of the more comfortable and friendly places to stay. The resort in Harare is someway off the main road however there is free transport to and from the city centre. Once there

Facilities include swimming pool, well stocked bar, tennis courts, cheap, adequate meals and clean rooms with mosquito nets. Julio and Melissa, co-owners, are based on site and take part in the day to day management of Shoestrings along with Justine and Chris who run the office and bar.

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