Royal Geographical Society-Sarawak Government Expedition 1977-78

The first British cavers to visit Mulu were part of a 15month, multi-disciplinary scientific expedition which visited Mulu at the invitation of the Sarawak authorities. Spencer St.John (1856) and G.E.Wilford of the Malaysian Geological Survey (1961) had noted the existence of significant caves in Mulu and these observations resulted in the inclusion of a 6 man caving team as part of the expedition personnel.

During the months of March-May 1978, this small group explored over 34km of passage in G.Api and more than 8km in G.Benarat and began a highly productive partnership between British cavers, local people and the Sarawak Authorities which has now lasted over a quarter of a century and has resulted in the exploration and survey of the world’s greatest caves.

The findings of 1978 set a precedent for the years to come. The vast passage of Deer Cave was surveyed and, across the ‘Garden of Eden’, its continuation - Green Cave. Along the western side of G.Api, the obvious entrance of Cave of the Winds was explored and, close by, the cool waters of the Clearwater River resurging from the mountain, led the way to the discovery of one of the world’s truly great cave systems. On the other side of the mountain, the huge, ancient passages of Wonder Cave and Prediction Cave were explored.

At the north end of the Park, the Terikan River resurgence was entered at the north westerly tip of G.Benarat whilst, at the foot of the mountain’s southern cliffs, the team explored Tiger Foot Cave and began the exploration of Benarat Caverns.

In 1977 there was no airport and there were no logging roads. Mulu’s base camp, at Long Pala, was a 3 day journey upriver in a canoe or a helicopter ride from Miri: the Park was remote and the depths of the caves were more remote still.