| Kapitel | Titel | Seite |
|---|---|---|
| Abstract / Zusammenfassung /Résumé | 5 | |
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS / TEAM MEMBERS | 6 | |
| 1.0 | INTRODUCTION | 9 |
| 1.1 | Setting the Scene | 9 |
| 1.2 | Project Objectives | 9 |
| 1.3 | Adopting an Idea | 10 |
| 1.4 | The Mount Suswa Conservation and Tourism Initiative | 11 |
| 2.0 | MAPPING THE CAVES | 12 |
| 2.1 | A History of Exploration | 12 |
| 2.2 | Geology of the Volcano | 16 |
| 2.3 | Formation of the Caves | 18 |
| 2.4 | Animals in the Caves | 22 |
| 2.5 | Human use of the Caves | 22 |
| 3.0 | DEVELOPING THE CAVES | 22 |
| 3.1 | Rationale | 22 |
| 3.2 | The Primary Infrastructure | 23 |
| 3.3 | Operation and Management | 24 |
| 3.4 | Health and Safety, Insurance and Liability | 24 |
| 4.0 | PROPOSED PROGRAMME OF ENGINEERING | 25 |
| 4.1 | Development of Fig Tree Cave (18) | 25 |
| 4.2 | Development of Thumb Cave (13) | 27 |
| 4.3 | Development of A Caving Adventure (14a to 18) | 28 |
| 4.4 | Costs | 30 |
| 5.0 | NARRATIVE FOR FUTURE CAVE TOURS | 34 |
| 5.1 | Description of Mt. Suswa | 34 |
| 5.2 | Maasai Myths and Legends | 35 |
| 5.3 | Cave Guide Training | 35 |
| 5.4 | A Guided Journey Through Fig Tree Cave (18) | 36 |
| 5.5 | A Guided Journey Through Thumb Cave (13) | 42 |
| 5.6 | A Caving Adventure — A Guided Journey Through Cave 14 to join Fig Tree Cave | 46 |
| 6.0 | REFERENCES | 49 |
This report describes the extensive lava tube caves of Mt. Suswa, a dormant volcano in the Eastern Rift Valley of Kenya, known locally as “Oldoinyo Nyokie” — The Red Mountain. It is the result of a project carried out in June 2007 to map, photograph and outline a strategy for turning selected caves into show caves to attract visiting tourists. It contains detailed cave surveys, cave descriptions and colour photographs, with costed outline engineering plans for the initial development of individual caves. Background information is also provided on the history and exploration of the caves, the geology of the area and the thinking behind the tourism initiative by the indigenous Maasai community, to develop Mt. Suswa as a visitor attraction. Detailed descriptive tours through the caves are also provided, to form the basis of interpretive tours by local cave guides in the future.