‘Anahulu Cave

After the natural bridge, got some food at a grocery store cause I was very hungry at this point. Had a meal of canned chicken spam, instant noodles, and mango juice when I got to the next stop, Anahulu Cave.

This cave was so cool! A big cave system, with huge stalactites and stalagmites, and a first part lit up with lights, and with cement stairs so you can walk around and see the beginning of the caves. There’s pools of freshwater in the caves that you can swim in, which is what they’re known for. The water is normally very clear but due to all the recent rain, the water near the entrance was very brown and murky.
There were two other Tongan girls and a guy from Australia visiting and the owner of the property said he would go get some flashlights and take them further into the cave where the water was clearer, so I decided to join them

He took us past the ropes and part that was lit up, and we ventured into the dark cave with just flashlights. We went pretty far in, trekking over the rocks and stalagmites going deeper and deeper into the dark cave. For a while we weren’t following any rope or anything, and it seemed like it would be very easy to get lost in the cave system. Eventually there was a rope, and we followed it for a bit before getting to some more pools of water. They weren’t crystal clear as usual but a bit clearer than the opening of the cave. The owner/guide then proceeded to leave us there for the next half hour and went back to the entrance. We swam around for a bit, and the water was not too cold! (Although the Tongans disagreed). After the swim we started the decent walk back (started the wrong direction but eventually found the rope lol) and then the owner met us part way again.

Saw some local boys jumping in the water in the main part of the cave, and then checked out the beach for a sec.

What an experience! Felt like real caving haha! Cost 20 pa’anga but totally worth it!Read more