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Cango Caves, Oudtshoorn, South Africa
(A link on any picture will take you to a bigger view in the gallery.)
Many millions of years ago this very dry area in South Africa was probably a swamp. The word "Kango" means something like "watery place" or "water between hills" in the Khoi language. (The Khoi or Khoikhoi and San people were among the very first people living in the southern tip of Africa. Their closest living relatives are the Bushmen, of which there is only a small group alive today. Watch the wonderful movies by Jamie Uys, called The Gods must be Crazy and The Gods must be Crazy II to find out more.)
The Cango Caves are in a semi-arid area of South Africa, called the Karoo. The word "karoo" means "dry" or "bitter" and is probably a Hottentot word (another indigenous people. They were the people who met the first European settler, Dutchman Jan van Riebeeck in 1652.)
The following pictures are all from postcards.
This is the wide entrance to the caves. Just as soon as you
have entered, there are about 70 steps down into the huge "theatre" where
music concerts are sometimes held. While in this huge hall, all the lights
are switched off to give the visitor an idea of how deep and thick darkness
can be.
This incredible subterranean world was declared a national monument almost 60 years ago. There are countless speleotherms, strange dripstone formations and a variety of halls and chambers. Names like the Roman Candle, Throne Room, Drum room, Fairy Palace, Bridal Chamber, Coral Chamber, Crystal Forest and Lot's Chamber, all conjure up strange and wonderful images. Only the first half of the caves is open to the public.
For wonderful pictures of some of the scenes in the caves, click here.
Thank you to 
for this space.
(URL: http://boozers.fortunecity.com/bridge/251/)
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The HTML Writers Guild.
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KIBANA-SHAKUNAGE (Rhododendron aureum): One of the Alpine Rhododendrons.
Its pale-yellow color is expressed in both the Japanese and the Latin name
(image).
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