Page 33 - KBHA BULLETIN 3

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Human Impact

As the caves have become more and more popular over the years, so the flood of human

traffic on the mountain and through the caves has brought with it inevitable side effects. The

erosion on the path above Devil’s Pit is so bad that the path has turned into a donga, and the
sand from the path has been washed into the cave and blocked some of the passages.

Many of the cave walls are covered in graffiti and there is litter along all of the major routes.
The way the caves have deteriorated is really brought home when one enters one of the lesser

known caves and sees the unmarked walls and the white sandy floors, as opposed to the

candle soot writing in the Grand Hall of Oread Halls, and the dirty grey sand of Annie’s Hall.

Conclusion

While the caves will continue to provide recreation for many people for many years to come,

I often wonder whether Meyer would have been so generous in sharing his passion with all

and sundry, if he had foreseen the effects that it would have.

Bibliography

Anon, Cape Argus, Friday, October 19, 1923, Aladdin’s Cave in Kalk Bay Mountain. (Very

good description of the geology by Mr A. R. C. Walker.)

Anon, Undated, Fire Protection Committee, Guide to the Kalk Bay and Muizenberg

Mountains pamphlet.

Ford, D. C. and P. W. Williams (1989) Karst Geomorphology and Hydrology, Unwin Hyman

Ltd.

Marker, Margaret E. and Peter G. Swart (1995) Pseudokarst in the Western Cape, South

Africa, Cave and Karst Science, Vol. 22, No. 1, August 1995.