Thursday 15th October 2026

John Cooper, Kate Lawrence, Wayne Starsmore, Adrian Vanderplank and Jude Vanderplank. Still warm today at 18°C with no breeze. John lifelined Kate down first, then lowered 3 dumpy bags and 2 rolls of carpet which she used to plug the floor rift and protect the South end. John then descended to discuss where today’s holes were to be drilled. Kate then ascended and lowered John’s drill. The intention was to drill 5 long holes in the lowest ledges to start with. However the Southernmost hole dropped right through with the longest bit (900mm), so he restricted the others to the 600mm bit. As each hole was completed it was plugged with a rubber bung supplied by Wayne (many thanks). A tea towel was used to cover each set of holes (2 and 3) to prevent debris from the higher holes being forced into them. Finally a row of 3 deep holes was drilled in the upper ledge, none of which dropped through although the rock was quite fractured. John ascended and Adrian was lifelined down. Then his bag of supplies from Wayne lowered to him. Once all was set up the bag was hauled up and the wire lowered down. Adrian was then lifelined out and he destroyed the holes. 2½ hours. John.

Saturday 10th October 2026

John Cooper, Nigel Graham, Pete Hann, Kate Lawrence, Adrian Vanderplank and Jude Vanderplank. Noticeably cooler today at 13°C with a chilly wind blowing. John down first and he set up a floodlight attached to the bottom rung of the fixed ladders. He then came out and Kate descended to send up spoil. In addition she sent up 1 bit of carpet and 3 dumpy bags. However the floor rift swallowed up the other bit of carpet. John descended to break up a couple of larger rocks before coming out again. More loads sent up before Adrian descended to discuss options and take photos. Kate came out and Jude descended for a look. Finally Jude came out followed by Adrian, who collected the floodlight on the way. Totals for the day were 24 loads of rock and 26 loads of gravel. 3 hours. John.

Carpet protected stal? Photo KL

Looking South. Video KL

Tuesday 6th October 2026

John Cooper, Xiao Jin, Kate Lawrence, Wayne Starsmore, Adrian Vanderplank and Jude Vanderplank. Still warm today at 18°C. John down first and started to drill a line of 4 holes in the top ledge.Kate then descended and drew lines on the rock to show John where he was NOT allowed to drill. After she returned to the surface 3 dumpy bags were lowered to block off the rift in the floor. Then John completed the line of 4 deep holes in the ledge. In addition he drilled another line of 4 shorter holes in the ledge at floor level, North end. He then came out and Kate descended with a roll of carpet, 2 pieces, to cover the dumpy bags. It is hoped that the smoother surface will make removing the gravel easier. Kate then came out and Wayne descended. He commented that the stemming water was leaking out of the holes where they passed through the various beds. Should be more spoil this time, fingers crossed. 2½ hours. John.

Saturday 3rd October 2026

John Cooper, Pete Hann, Sarah Hann, Kate Lawrence, Adrian Vanderplank and Jude Vanderplank. Cooler again today at 18°C but misty and damp, warmer when the sun popped out every so often. Kate down and then the double ladder hauled out. Disappointing bang result as it turned out, possibly owing to not tamping the holes with water? Also only the attachment point of Kate’s special stal left. The ledge had been slightly shaken but not broken. However the floor boulder had gone, leaving a continuous rift in the floor. Kate sent up 15 loads and then called for assistance to remove a rock wedged down the rift. John was allowed down and the pair managed to extract it. John then reduced it to manageable pieces before returning to surface. A few more loads hauled out. Total for the day only 10 of rocks and 11 of gravel. Will need to redo the bang in the ledge. 2 hours. John.

Stal remains. Photo KL.

Ledge should be gravel! Photo KL.

Looking South then down. Video KL.

Tuesday 29th September 2026

John Cooper, Xiao Jin, Kate Lawrence, Wayne Starsmore, Adrian Vanderplank and Jude Vanderplank. Warmer today at 20°C. John down first and stuffed two dumpy bags into the rift in the floor. Kate then descended to show John where he was NOT allowed to drill. Then John drilled a line of 4 deep holes in the ledge. The floor was too broken to drill significant holes so just 1 shallow one in the floor boulder and 2 longer ones into the North end of the rift. A third dumpy bag was used with the capping mat to cover the South end of the rift. John came out and was replaced by Wayne. He removed one of the dumpy bags from the floor rift to take a video of the rift before replacing it. The bottom double ladder was raised to give more working room for Wayne to charge the holes. Wire fed down behind the ladder and once everything was set up Wayne came up and the holes were destroyed. The fumes came out very quickly today. 2½ hours. John.