From above, we watch the falls tumble down into the pool below. Our vantage point offers us the view of a rainbow curving through the thundering mist, thus giving this attractive falls its name. We hike silently down to the waters edge, past tall, thin boulders that remind me of faces, their tiny noses against a long, narrow forehead.
It looks unassuming from the far shore. The swimming hole is large, surrounded by large rocks that have tumbled down from the hillsides above, rimming the water like mossy gemstones. Halfway across the pool is a sandbar. Branches peek up out of the water and their tendrils glisten in the late afternoon sun. I can’t see the rainbow anymore, but I know its there, waiting to be seen. To our left, the water streams out of the pool toward an unknown goal. A river? The bay? Rocks guard the entrance to the stream, as if not willing to let the water escape, hoping it will stay here, in this paradisaical Eden.
We strip down and slide into the cool water. The rocks are just slippery enough to make it a waterslide, the moss gentle beneath me. The three of us paddle out to the sandbar and wade across the unseen obstacles. We cross the deep expanse toward the rock wall behind the waterfall and as we climb out of the water, the fall reveals its secret.
Hidden to the naked eye from the opposite shore is a cave. A cave filled with verdant moss and black rocks. A cave that could be the centre of the jungle in an island paradise. The dark moss doesn’t fight for space with the brighter ferns and marsilea that coat the rocks; rather, the moss complements it. Soft mud oozes between our toes as we scramble up the rocks into the cave. I look around me in complete awe; it feels like heaven. I can’t believe I’ve left my waterproof camera back at home – if only I had known… but it’s enough to be there, to revel in the dark, lush green earth.
I wish I could put it into words… the way that the cave defies the expectations of what a cave should be. It’s lush. The arrangement of the flora gives off the impression of a silken gown dripping with emeralds. The random scatter of rocks along the cave floor would have one believe that precious items were placed there without a care by an ancient being, left for the cave to protect and nurture.
We scramble further along the cavefront; we can’t go far in – the cave is not deep – but we can ease along the face of it, just behind the water. We go higher toward the far end and the beginning of the forest beyond. I know that, while we can see out across to the far shore, they can’t see us. In the bright afternoon sun, we are all but invisible to the other side.
Soon, there is nowhere else for us to go but back. Our steps are more sure-footed now, more aware of the unexpected slip or mud that defines the path back to the entrance. One by one, we drop silently into the dark water and begin the paddle back to shore. The water is cool, almost cold, in the shadow made by the towering rocks and as we move into the sunlight we are gifted with the warm branches below the water, with the teasing warmth across our backs.
We clamber out of the water and let the sun soak up some of the moisture. As I turn to go, I look back once more at the thundering falls, this time with the knowledge that a secret world lies beyond the curtain of crystal water.
{featured image from Phil Norton/Flickr}