So, if you want to come caving, there’s a short list of things that you’ll have to bring: 1. A set of old clothes that you don’t mind getting (very) dirty 2. A pair of shoes with a grippy sole (gumboots, sand shoes, joggers and hiking boots all work) 3. A non-squishy, non-crumbly lunch and snacks for underground 4. A small waterbottle (500-750ml is best) 5. 4xAA batteries to for the club headtorches 6. Clean clothes for the trip home If you have overalls (not greasy!) and a personal headtorch, by all means bring them. NUCC provides caving helmets, headtorches and any other specialised caving gear. On overnight trips, you will need your own camping gear (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, cooking gear, etc). Some club members have extra camping gear (I think the stuff undergoes binary fission), and may be happy to lend camping equipment if you don’t have your own. You will also need to bring your own breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Transport: To get to and from caving trips, we generally car-pool from ANU Sport. Passengers generally contribute fuel money towards transport costs, and this is built into the trip fee. This money is split equitably amongst car-owners who carry people or gear for the trip. When you register for a trip, please let the trip leader know if you have a car, can give passengers a lift, or if you need a lift yourself. Remember, you need to register for caving trips. Best ways are to either register on Facebook, tell the trip leader you want to come at SRT, or send an email to whoever is coordinating the trip. Costs: NUCC tries to keep costs to a minimum - most of us are poor, broke uni students anyway! Generally, there’ll be four potential cost components on a trip: - Equipment maintenance (generally $5 or $10, depending on the trip) - Fuel money - Camping/accommodation fees, where charged - Park access fees, where charged Usually this adds up to $10-20 for a day trip, and $25-50 for an overnight (or longer) trip, depending on where and how far away a caving location is. Compared to cost of commercial ‘adventure’ caving tour ($150-200 for a half day trip only), this is extraordinarily good value, and many of the caves we visit are better anyway (in the author’s utterly biased opinion).