2 I'm Kevin Biggar. And I'm Jamie Fitzgerald. Over the last 10 years we've taken on some of the world's toughest adventures, from rowing across the Atlantic... That's the problem with this seat. It's the only major concern at the moment. ...to trekking unaided to the South Pole. Whoo-hoo! Last season, we relived five epic journeys of NZ's greatest explorers. Now we have a new challenge ` to take on a series of even more gruelling expeditions. Whoa. It's beautiful. We'll be taking on some of the toughest terrain this country has to offer,... You can imagine what that felt like! ...from the vast Olivine ice plateau... This place is enormous! ...to the deadly currents of the Three Kings Islands. Each week, we'll retrace the hardest parts of pioneering NZ expeditions. We're good, we're good, we're good! But we will not just be following in their footsteps ` we'll be wearing the same boots, trying the same food,... Oh, that's cold! ...and using the same equipment. This week, we head underground to take on the Peter Lambert-led 1959 exploration of Harwood's Hole. I hope it ends up better for us than that guy. We'll enter the cave with rubber gumboots and carbide lamps. This is incredible. We'll push ourselves to the limit to get inside the cavers' heads,... I'm not looking forward to this bit. ...to try and overcome the difficulties and obstacles they faced,... ...and to show you what happened when they took on one of the deepest and most dangerous caves in the world. DRAMATIC MUSIC We're off the coast of the South Island in NZ, in Tasman Bay, heading for one of the most stunning parts of the country ` Abel Tasman National Park. People from all over the world come here to see the magnificent golden beaches, the sculpted cliffs, the dense bush, and most of all to walk the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. As stunning as these views are, some of the most breathtaking views can't be seen from here ` because they're underground. Mt Arthur and Takaka Hill are filled with underground caves and passageways. In fact, 29 of the 30 deepest caves in the country are found right here. Back in 1957, a farmer from Takaka took a group of cavers through dense bush to a hole so deep he had dared not even look inside it. It turns out that it was the start of a massive new unexplored cave. And the reason why it was unexplored? The opening at the top is the top of a vertical drop of more than 200m. They called it Harwood's Hole. The caving community had found their Holy Grail. A group of them decided to return with some equipment, and over the next two years they'd take on the most ambitious caving expedition ever seen in NZ. The team didn't know each other very well, but soon a natural leader emerged. He was Peter Lambert. He was a keen caver. He'd organised most of the gear. But most of all, he had the sort of personality that brought a team together. So in December 1958, the group prepared in Takaka. Thanks very much, Carlo. Cheers. Bye. Lambert had been in plenty of caving systems before, but what he was about to see would be like nothing he could've ever imagined. Whoa, let's see what we've got. Whoa, let's see what we've got. Oh, this is exciting. Uh, bit of rope. That's, uh... Oh, here we go! Oh, an old ladder. Wow. Wow. Hard-core. I haven't got one of these at home. I can't see you painting your house with that. I can't see you painting your house with that. (LAUGHS) Oh, look at that. Fantastic. How old-school! Oh, look at that. Fantastic. How old-school! Jeepers. OK. Hey, Kev, have you got another pack? Hey, Kev, have you got another pack? Yeah. That's strange` Oh, hold on. It makes sense while we're in the bush to use these ones with the frames, and when we're in the cave these might be more flexible and... Does that mean we're gonna have to go through squeezes even tighter than that? I hope not. Hey, look what I've got. (LAUGHS) Look at it! It's like a chair from an old fairground. Have you got a pair of these? Yeah. We've done a lot of stuff in the 1850s and now we're in the 1950s, so it's great to have some modern gear. But I can see that that's gonna have some drawbacks. Oh, no! Stubbies! Look how short they are. I know one thing, though. I know one thing, though. What's that? I know one thing, though. What's that? I don't wanna walk behind you. (LAUGHS) Takaka Hill lies just 15km inland from the northern coast of the South Island, but it's what it's made up of that makes it special. It's nearly all limestone and marble. It's rock that's easily eroded by rainwater. Team that with the height of the hill and the area's high rainfall and you have the perfect breeding ground for sinkholes. I wanna dump my pack. I wanna dump my pack. Is it bad? I wanna dump my pack. Is it bad? Real bad. My legs are going numb. I've never seen anything as big as that. It's amazing. The cavers had been exploring around here. They found a couple of small caves, but when they came across this they knew they were on to something very special. The scale of the place blew them away. It's 40m across and 60m that way. And as for down ` they had no idea how deep it was. So to get themselves some kind of rough guide, they threw a stone in. (WHISPERS) One, two, three... ...four, five, six... ...four, five, six... Still going! > ...seven... ...seven... Still going! > ...eight. ...eight. DISTANT BOOM It took about eight seconds to get to the ground. That meant it was 250m deep. And it opens up like a bell inside. There was no way they could climb down. One of the team ` a car salesman ` built a winch system made from a petrol-powered four-stroke engine and 5mm steel cable. They'd lower each of the team down using a steel chair a lot like this one. BOTH LAUGH They got the winch idea from a newspaper report about an expedition in France. The only trouble was it was a story about how the cable had overheated and snapped, plunging the French caver to his death. That is a long way down. That is a long way down. You can't see the bottom. I don't even wanna look all the way to the bottom. So, by the end of 1958 they'd set up the winch. It was all in place. They were ready to let the first person down, so they drew straws to see who'd be first. Peter Lambert won. They lowered him down, but he got caught up in the vines so they raised him back up. Dave Kershaw was next. As soon as he started going down, things started to go wrong. He got his thumb caught up; they had to raise him up very quickly. But then they lowered him through the mist down into the abyss. Instead of the straws ` paper, scissors, rock? Instead of the straws ` paper, scissors, rock? OK. Here we go. This one counts for a lot! Oh, no! You always go rock. You went paper! Why? (LAUGHS) I was thinking of what you were gonna be like down there. (LAUGHS) I was thinking of what you were gonna be like down there. Oh man. I think the last time this seat was used was in a fairground attraction. Chair-o-plane. Can you give me a hand? Can you give me a hand? Yep. Oh yeah. OK. OK. OK. OK. Love your work, mate. That's it. (EXHALES LOUDLY) This is... you can imagine what they felt like. Going good. Yeah, that's good. Yeah, that's awesome. (BREATHES HEAVILY) Just keep that slow pace, mate. You don't want the rope heating up. Just keep that slow pace, mate. You don't want the rope heating up. Yeah. Don't wanna get things hot. Nearly there. Getting to the bottom is a long and terrifying process. (MAKES BIRD CALL) But it's only once you clear the mouth and find yourself hanging in space do you appreciate the enormity of the cave. The lower I go, the more removed I am from everything familiar. WATER TRICKLES Both light and sound struggle to make it to the foot of the cave. After a very slow 20 minutes, there is no doubt that I've arrived in a different world. It's so desolate down here that I'm relieved when Jamie finally appears above me as a tiny speck. Hey. Hey. Hey, you're nearly there! Hey. Hey, you're nearly there! (LAUGHS NERVOUSLY) Oh my goodness. How about that? Just take it easy. Don't blow the last bit. I'm just losing the last of the light, I think, the sunlight up the top. (GROANS) Nearly there. Nearly there. Yep. Nearly there. Yep. Yeah, don't` don't swing over there. Now I` gotcha, gotcha. (LAUGHS) Oh, that feels good. How's that, to be on solid ground again? How's that, to be on solid ground again? Oh, that feels good. On December 27 1958, Dave Kershaw was the first human to ever set foot on the bottom of Harwood's Hole. When he made it to the bottom, it was 253m between here and the very top and the single longest pitch ever in the Southern Hemisphere. Now, as much fun as coming down the winch was, the aim was to try and find another way out. These caves are carved by massive river systems, and so there should be, in theory, a way out of the cave. The most important piece of equipment the cavers now had was their carbide lamps. So, if I do this just right... 'Water drips on the carbide and the acetylene formed is ignited.' (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) GRUFFLY: Made fire! (LAUGHS) GRUFFLY: Made fire! It's brilliant. So, let's see if we can get yours to go. If you talk friendly enough to your neighbour they might just let you borrow their flame. Stand back. Stand back. (LAUGHS) I hope it's a short cave. I hope it's a short cave. (LAUGHS) I hope it's a well-lit one. That's not fair. Well, I can see you well. How about you? The cavers had only enough carbide and food for around two days of exploring, but the labyrinth was not going to give up its secrets lightly. We've actually just landed on a ledge. The real throat of the cave is even further down there. For Lambert, Kershaw and the team, every step that took them deeper into the mountain they were just hoping that they'd find a way out. I've a huge amount of respect for what they did, cos it feels pretty spooky to be walking into the inky darkness here with two bombs strapped to your head. with two bombs strapped to your head. (LAUGHS) Oh, I hope it ends up better for us than that guy. Oh, I hope it ends up better for us than that guy. Ugh. > As the explorers descended further and further into darkness, had they known what they'd ultimately face they would have most likely turned back. SPOOKY MUSIC We've travelled back in time to 1956 to retrace the subterranean journey of Peter Lambert and his team of cavers as they became the first to explore the Harwood's Hole cave system. We've lowered ourselves 250m down the giant sinkhole that forms the cave's entrance. Ugh. Now we're descending a scree slope literally inside the mountain. I hope it ends up better for us than that guy. It forms the widest part of the cave, with the roof towering over 30m above us. But it doesn't take too long for the cave to narrow. After more than a few twists and turns, it reveals the first of its surprises. This is incredible! Oh-ho-ho! Oh-ho-ho! It's like you're in the Hall of the Mountain Kings. Oh my` Oh my` It's like an amusement park! You see, at one point it would've just been all a big waterfall coming down, and now the water's just punching through a hole in the rock, halfway down. The crystal-clear water is deceptively deep ` well over 2m. Oh no. Oh no. (LAUGHS RUEFULLY) OK. You show us the way, mate. It's also very cold. The water temperature is around 4 degrees Centigrade. You right? You right? Yep. And the air temperature is not much better at a chilly 6 degrees. Oh yeah. Here we go. It's no wonder, then, that hypothermia is one of the cavers' greatest dangers. Just don't slip, eh. (LAUGHS NERVOUSLY) Good work. But none of those discomforts worried Lambert and the team. All they felt was excitement. The deeper they went, the more obvious it became that they'd uncovered a major cave system. Oh, Kev. Just` Careful. Oh my goodness. I feel bad leaning on this. It's gotta be a 10m drop. What are we hanging over? It's gotta be a 10m drop. What are we hanging over? At least. I think it's time for the ladder. So, if you knew that you were only gonna go out, you could just throw a rope over and abseil down. But they had no guarantee that they could make it out, so they used these instead, and they'd secure it by banging in a piton. In fact, you can see one just here. The bad thing about these ladders is that they're notorious for breaking. They're only made with about 3mm cable, but where the rungs are it always rusts over, and that's where it breaks. That's why we're gonna back it up with the rope. All right. Who's gonna go first? All right. Who's gonna go first? Uh, well... Oh, come on! You go paper! No, I always go rock. No, I always go rock. (SIGHS) I think we'll use most of it. I think we'll use most of it. Hope we don't need more than it. Not as much as me. I'm going down first. Not as much as me. I'm going down first. (LAUGHS) OK, mate, you ready to go? Well, you're supposed to use these on their side, so I'm gonna try... and start to get into the routine of having one foot in the front and then the heel of the other foot in the back. That's it. You can't use them like a normal ladder. (PANTS) More slack. Oh, those heels aren't going in very well. Are you able to get your heel in? Watch your headlamp. You're just burning a hole in your sleeve. Crikey. As long as I don't burn a hole in the rope. It's just got caught on a wee stalactite down there. It's just got caught on a wee stalactite down there. Yeah? You good? Oh yeah. (GRUNTS) Oh my goodness. This was only the first of many obstacles that the team would have to overcome. Although the water and the cave ran downhill, often the cavers needed to climb up to find an open path to a way down. That's it. That's it. They discovered they needed to work just as hard as mountaineers ` it was just that they were climbing down the mountain from the inside. But then some challenges faced by cavers are far greater than anything found on the surface. Oh no. Jamie, have a look at this. Oh no. One of the things that cavers like least is when the roof of the passageway disappears into water. It's called a sump. Sometimes they're short, but other times they're long underground tunnels of water. We're pretty sure this one's OK, but still, one of us needs to go up with a rope and make sure it's OK before the second goes through. So... before the second goes through. So... You ready? So... it's the person who wins, or the loser? Well, you're not a winner if you have to go first. Well, you're not a winner if you have to go first. (LAUGHS) OK, all right. Here we go. Ha! Ha! I've just had no luck. There we go. What I don't want is for you to make any practical jokes and just keep pulling the rope and keep pulling the rope when you're on the other side, all right? OK. OK. Ready? Big deep breath. If you get stuck, just give a big tug on the rope and I'll give you a winch back. I will. Sump diving is one of the most dangerous activities a caver can face. Only a few years ago, in the nearby Mt Arthur system, a cave diver died when he became trapped in a sump. It took two years to recover his body. There's still rope going. TENSE MUSIC I'm hoping he's tying off the knot now. Now there's nothing I can do but wait and hope that Kevin has made it safely to the other side. This is incredible. We've travelled back in time to 1956 to retrace the underground journey of Peter Lambert and his team as they became the first to explore the Harwood's Hole cave system. After making our way deep underground, we've found our way blocked by a sump, a point where the water level is higher than the roof of the cave. If you get stuck, just give a big tug on the rope, and I'll give you a winch back. Kevin has dived beneath the rock to try and find a way forward. I'm hoping he's tying off the knot now. < Oh, here he is. How is it? How is it? (PANTS) It's OK. It's so cold. My jaw's hurting. Ah, it's not far. Not as far as you think. Probably 2m or 3m through. I thought it was down here, but there's no way through. You have to go to the right. Don't go straight. Have you tied it off? Have you tied it off? It's tied off. It's a 3m swim to the opening on the other side. Not far, but the freezing cold water takes your breath away. Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Come in. Grab the rope. Whoo! So you can see, eh? This is definitely the way through. As beautiful as the cave is, it's also incredibly frustrating. Caving is a constant mix of geology, orienteering and problem-solving. But for most of the time, it can feel like walking through a maze. For Lambert's team, no matter how long they searched they could not find the lower exit to the cave. It's nice to grab a hold of a few of these things. The passage that looked most likely was blocked by a large calcite dam. The flow of the water disappeared underground, into another sump. But it was such a dark and tight space that no one was willing to swim and find a way through. There's no way round there? There's no way round there? Nah, we can't go any further. The method the expedition used was simple: the river knew the way through the mountain, they just had to follow it. But time and time again they would trek down a branch only to come to a place like this, somewhere where the river went underneath the mountain, but they couldn't follow. Teams of cavers came in and out of the hole for three weeks. The first one was down here for 30 hours straight. Finally they realised they'd exhausted all their options; they had to turn around and head back. Although the team had left themselves markers showing the path back to the entrance,... So slippery! ...getting back to the starting point was not easy. I don't know where I` Oh yeah, there's a hidden rock to put your foot on. They were now travelling mostly uphill and against the flow of the water. But for us, that's not the worst of our problems. Hey, Kev, do you think it's come up? Hey, Kev, do you think it's come up? Definitely is. We've been listening to the water for the last hour or so, and it's definitely got louder. That can only mean one thing: it's starting to rain outside. The last thing you want, though, is to be caught in here with the water going up. Just be careful you don't fall back. Hang on, stay there. I'll get you... All right? All right? Yep. (GRUNTS) He never makes these things look very easy. Get up a bit, Kev. There's a stirrup, a foothold just down there, and there's another right under the water. Then I'll... < Oh yeah! Oh! It's freezing! WATER POUNDS < Yeah, drag yourself over! < Get one foot on the rock. We're running out of dry clothes. It's time to take the high road and try and stay out of the water. But to do that involves a curious mix of gymnastics and yoga,... How you going up there? How you going up there? Yep. ...something neither of us were quite expecting. DRAMATIC MUSIC You right, mate? You right, mate? Eh? (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Aw, yep. Still, at least we have all of our hands free for climbing. OK, Muz. Murray, our cameraman, needs his for filming. As we attempt to cross a water-filled cavern, a rock gives way beneath Murray's feet. SPLASH! He plunges a good 3m into the freezing water. Murray fell into the water. > Murray fell into the water. > Jeez. Are you OK, Murray? Are you all right? > He's all right, but a bit shaken,... (EXHALES VIGOROUSLY) ...and in typical Muz style, he's still filming. Murray, you OK? > Murray, you OK? > Yeah, he's OK. Murray, you OK? > Yeah, he's OK. All good. Lambert's team spent a total of 30 hours underground on their first trip. Although they were disappointed that they'd failed to find a through passage, after all that they'd faced it must have been a relief to see the light from Harwood's Hole once more ` even if no one was quite looking forward to the dangerous ride back up on the winch. Peter Lambert was pretty certain that the winch was safe, but he still liked to supervise as many of the ascents as he could. They still had some nasty scares though. One guy on his descent was knocked out of his seat, and he had to cling on for dear life the last 60 yards until he got to the top. All that summer, team after team made the descent into the system looking for a through passage, but each time they came up empty-handed. It was late summer when they finally realised the key to unlock the mystery of Harwood's Hole might possibly lie in a completely different cave. Good work. We have travelled back in time to 1958 to retrace the underground journey of Peter Lambert and his team as they became the first to explore the Harwood's Hole cave system. Unable to find an underground through passage to a hoped-for exit, the team returned the following summer full of hope and with a fresh new plan. This is pretty unpleasant. This is pretty unpleasant. Yeah. This mountain is made up of marble on the top and limestone underneath, but inside of it it's a rabbit warren of streams leading out. The exit, or resurgence, could be as small as this. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Somewhere down there is that needle, but finding it wasn't gonna be easy. These rocks are razor-sharp. They're the natural enemy of stubbies. They're the natural enemy of stubbies. (LAUGHS) The team explored the hills above Gorge Creek, and there, tucked halfway up the hill in very rough terrain, they found the opening of what appeared to be a significant cave. But in a mountain full of caves, was it the exit to Harwood's Hole? Wow. It's beautiful. (GRUNTS) (GRUNTS) What's the grip like? The further they explored, the more it become clear that they'd stumbled upon one of the most beautiful caves in the world. It's like it's made out of molten wax. This is unbelievable. This is unbelievable. It's incredible. When the first person came in here they were just gobstruck. They looked around, and all they could see were the stalactites coming from the roof, the stalagmites coming up from below, and as they looked around the walls it sparkled like stars in the sky. They named it Starlight Cave. This rock is actually 460 million years old, and when the rain percolates through the hundreds of metres of rock it picks up tiny pieces of it. When it comes to a space like this, it deposits them on the walls and creates these incredible shapes. It's a slow process though. Just that one inch on the stalactite takes a hundred years. Of the entire Harwood's Hole caving system, there's really only one decent place for a camp, and that's right here. It's called the Boudoir. All right. Let's set up camp then. That's it. That's it. (LAUGHS) That's the great thing about caving, right? There's no wind, there's no tent, no rain. Yeah. No car alarms. Yeah. No car alarms. No car alarms. That's all we have to do. How about we get some stuff ready for a meal, and we've got some candles ` we'll pull a few of those out, eh? we'll pull a few of those out, eh? Sounds good. These old carbide lamps are good for something. These old carbide lamps are good for something. Oh, that's brilliant. Magnificent. I wonder if we could do creme brulees with those too? I wonder if we could do creme brulees with those too? (CHUCKLES) It's been a` It's been a great day. It's been a` It's been a great day. It's fantastic. Exhausting though. Stunning outlook. I was looking up to see the stars. I was looking up to see the stars. (CHORTLES) Staying out? No chance of that. Such a calm, still night, isn't it? Such a calm, still night, isn't it? GENTLE LAUGHTER ECHOES One slip here and you're having a very cold bath. For the explorers seeking a connection to Harwood's, the deeper they travelled into Starlight Cave the more promising it looked. But travelling uphill was a risky business. Oh, thanks. (GRUNTS) Any injury underground has major consequences. Just careful. Some of this is really slippery. There's no helicopter coming to your aid, and the moment you can no longer travel under your own steam, getting to the surface becomes a logistical nightmare. (GROANS) (GROANS) Can you get any good holds? We'll see. A few years ago, near here, a caver broke his jaw in a fall. It took a team of 80 cavers several days to get him back to the surface. Just be careful, cos there's a bit of a drop now. > It's a 12m climb to the next passage. The rock is smooth, but there are hand- and footholds. It's going well,... Where can I put my feet, Kev? ...till suddenly it's not. What? What? Where can I put my feet? We've travelled back in time to 1958 to retrace the underground journey of Peter Lambert and his team as they became the first humans to explore the Harwood's Hole cave system. Whoo! We've descended 250m on a single rope, travelled up a freezing waterfall, and dived through a passageway that was submerged with water. Just be careful, cos there's a bit of a drop now. Now we are attempting to climb a 50m marble wall. (GRUNTS) But halfway up, Jamie has run out of footholds and is fast running out of options. Where can I put my feet, Kev? Where can I put my feet, Kev? What's that? Where can I put my feet, Kev? What's that? Where can I put my feet? Your what? Where can I put my feet? Where can I put my feet? Lift it, lift it up. Your right knee. Yeah, right foot, right knee. You've caught your foot, though. You've caught your trousers under your heel. You wanna lift your right heel. That's it. With Kevin's help I can get a much better purchase on the rock. It's a scary moment ` but then, I'm getting used to that on this journey. (GRUNTS) Well done. Once on top I can throw Kevin a line, and he can climb in relative safety. As the team headed deeper and deeper into the bowels of the mountain, they began to lose hope of finding a connection. Whoa! As each section became harder and harder to navigate, they amused themselves by giving each feature a name. 'Dave's Horror', 'Shorty's Terror' ` each name perfectly conveying the emotion the cavers faced in overcoming them. But amongst the difficulty were moments of great beauty. However, even then it would result in one of the expedition's scariest moments. While the team was making their way through the passageway they heard a strange noise. It was a 'boom, boom, boom', like a giant creature was coming at them. It turns out they were underground during an earthquake. Surprisingly, they were quite safe. This entire mountainside's made up of solid marble. Tell you what ` I dunno if I'd want to put it to the test though. Tell you what ` I dunno if I'd want to put it to the test though. No way. It'd be so frightening. If being underground during an earthquake doesn't scare experienced cavers, then there is still one thing that does ` squeezes. OMINOUS MUSIC I'm not looking forward to this bit. Oh no. I've gotta keep going. My leg's stuck over something. But I don't know where I'm gonna end up. With the team trying passageway after passageway with no success, the only option left was to follow the water, even when it seemed impossible to do so. WATER RUSHES Are you OK? Are you OK? Yeah, I'm OK. The technique is to wedge your torso into as small a gap as possible, to give you the freedom to move your arms and legs through the squeeze. But it's not working. I'm gonna try a different strategy and try and go through head first. Squeezes are the most terrifying part of any caving journey. Recently in America, an experienced caver got stuck upside down in a similar passageway. He was trapped for 28 hours. Despite a full rescue team working to get him out, he eventually lapsed into unconsciousness and died still wedged in the squeeze. Are you through, Jamie? It's a horrible section, but with Jamie's technique I make it through. WATER GUSHES I'm through. I'm through. Well done, mate, well done. The passageway where Lambert's team now found themselves was yet another dead end, but this time there was cause for hope. Blocking their path was a calcite wall that resembled the blockage they'd discovered on the other side; and water was flowing from it, again indicating that maybe the Harwood's cave lay tantalisingly close on the other side. They needed a plan. They had a team come down from the Harwood side, and at a certain time they released dye into the stream. Sure enough, a few seconds afterwards that dye appeared on the Starlight side, so they knew that they were very very close. They just couldn't find a way through. After all the hours of exploration, and seemingly within just a few metres of the prize, the team were not going to be denied. They decided the only way to connect the two caves was to blast their way through. So in early 1960, armed with gelignite, the team created a small gap. It wasn't much, but maybe the passage it revealed was the hidden back door into Harwood's Hole. The wind's coming from here. The wind's coming from here. Yeah. It looks pretty wet, though. It looks pretty wet, though. It does. Oh! It's getting tighter and tighter. (GROANS) Water's so cold, and it's so deep. (GRUNTS) Where do you put your hands? It gets very claustrophobic when it starts to get tight like this. Oh! Shit. Yeah. Yeah. That's the way to do it. OK. It's tight! As the cave opened up, they began to recognise some of the features. After weeks of hard work, Peter Lambert and his team had done it. They had made the connection between Starlight Cave and Harwood's Hole. All knew it was the greatest day in the history of caving in NZ. Look at that. Fantastic. Look at that. Fantastic. Wow. On the 4th of January 1960, Peter Lambert and his team arrived here. They'd finally found the route between Starlight Cave and Harwood's Hole. After years of preparation and developing their techniques, they finally achieved the goal that they'd dreamed of. At 357m, the Harwood's Hole caving system was the country's deepest known cave and put NZ on the map for underground exploration. But there was one last challenge before they could start celebrating: they had to get out of the hole. As usual, they drew straws to see who would be winched first to the surface. Peter drew second, but, always safety conscious, he asked to go first so he could supervise the operation from on top. On Lambert's ascent, the motor suddenly stopped. Vibrations caused from weeks of using the winch, or maybe the recent earthquake, dislodged a large rock, which came crashing down on Peter's head. Tied into his chair, there was no escaping. He was hit by the full force of the rock and knocked unconscious. His hat came off his head and fell all the way to the bottom of the hole. The team pulled him up, cut him out of the chair, and sent for help as quick as they could. There were four still at the bottom of the hole, and they knew very little about what had happened. It wasn't until the next morning that they received an update. By the time the doctor had arrived at the top, it was too late. There was nothing he could do. Peter died during the night. The four at the bottom picked up his helmet, brought it over to the side of the cave, and they made a small memorial. The death of Peter Lambert was devastating for the team. But it didn't stop other explorers from pushing the limits as more new cave systems were discovered and explored. But the jewel in the crown remained the 369m deep Harwood`Starlight system. When it was finally surveyed, it was discovered to be the world's 12th deepest natural hole and the deepest anywhere outside Europe. Wow. That was like a whole different world. What do you think? Oh, it was amazing. But it wasn't easy, though. You know, I think this one really pushed us to the limit. Like sitting in that chair, staring down that 200m drop ` well, except for when I had my eyes shut. And getting to the bottom and then losing the natural light ` going down into that dark pit. And then sliding down the rocks, and then having to go down and back up that terrible ladder. There's beautiful stalactites. Those emerald pools and the beautiful passageways. What about the squeezes and pinches, and the crawls? I know. And all through the freezing cold water. But the thing is, now I just have such a huge respect for what Lambert, Kershaw and the rest of that original caving team went through at Harwood's. When you first glimpse the hole, you don't think, 'Let's get into it and look through the dark abyss.' You think, 'I wanna step back from the edge!' 'I wanna step back from the edge!' Absolutely. Then to go through the rest of the cave, and just using that dim, flickering light of their carbide lamps? Man, I tell you what ` that winch cable wasn't the only thing made of steel down there. But what I really like about caving is it makes you appreciate your everyday life so much more. So the best thing about being underground is getting back up? No, I love being underground. But it's that sudden change from dark to light, when you can smell the smell of air again, see the colours. Your senses just go into overdrive. It's fantastic to know that places like that exist. And they're still being found ` people think the world's explored and it's all been mapped` Like on Google. Like on Google. Yeah, exactly. But it's not like that at all. People are in the hills right now finding unexplored caves, connecting and mapping and understanding them. I look forward to finding out about their adventures. Yeah, it'd be great if caving became a bit more mainstream. Yeah, it'd be great if caving became a bit more mainstream. Why's that? Well, it's just been underground for so long. Well, it's just been underground for so long. That is so bad. You need some sun. Time to put those stubbies back on and head to the beach. Captions by Sam Bradford. Edited by Tracey Dawson. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2013