Custom Cave
As we gather at the surface, our divers are feeling a bit of trepidation for this dive that has been described as other-worldly. We descend to about 20 meters and peer into the mouth of the cave and see only darkness. Our guide had told us to expect this but it still feels foreboding. As we enter the cave we swim up and over a sandy hump and realize that this is what was blocking the light and that custom cave is not really a cave but a large cavern with a ‘sunroof’ at the surface where a fresh water source has worn away the volcanic rock.
Not surprisingly, there is little fish life inside the cavern, but we do see a sleeping nurse shark on one of the shelves along with plenty of shrimp tucked into the cracks in the rock walls. We swim in a lazy circle exploring the rock formations and slowly surface in into the opening at the surface where the fresh water from the river mixes with the salt water creating a shimmering effect and making it challenging to read our gauges.
After a short exploration of the surface where several large Petrels can be seen flying overhead, we descend back down and make our way back out of the cave and onto the nearby wall. Here we find the normal variety of reef fish including scissor tail sergeants, golden damselfish along with yellow and blue fusiliers.
📌 Custom Cave, Russell Islands, Solomon Islands
📷 Adam Beard
