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Expedition leader Jimmy White explores a cave on the island of Makatea in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. The name of the island is derived from the drinking water being brought out of caves like this one by local residents. “Ma,” indicates clear water and “Atea” indicates the light of day – with the “K” thrown in between the two words to make the resulting phrase “Ma-K-Atea” sound pleasing to the ear. For many years the island was the site of a large phosphate mining operation that produced hundreds if not thousands of hand dug pits. The mine was abandoned in 1964, but an unsuspecting visitor could easily fall into the pits while walking through the thick underbrush that has reclaimed the land. The cave is filled with more helictites – a twig like stalactite – than I have ever seen. The pool is illuminated with underwater dive lights.
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Jonathan Kingston
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8256x5504 / 44.1MB
http://www.kingstonimages.com
Contained in galleries
Adventure Life | Beyond Limits
Expedition leader Jimmy White explores a cave on the island of Makatea in the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. The name of the island is derived from the drinking water being brought out of caves like this one by local residents. “Ma,” indicates clear water and “Atea” indicates the light of day – with the “K” thrown in between the two words to make the resulting phrase “Ma-K-Atea” sound pleasing to the ear. For many years the island was the site of a large phosphate mining operation that produced hundreds if not thousands of hand dug pits. The mine was abandoned in 1964, but an unsuspecting visitor could easily fall into the pits while walking through the thick underbrush that has reclaimed the land. The cave is filled with more helictites – a twig like stalactite – than I have ever seen. The pool is illuminated with underwater dive lights.