Wednesday 17th October 2012

Mark Denning, Mike Moxon, Henry Dawson,  & Kevin Clinton on digger duty.
3 hours.
With Estelle & James on a secret mission, Mark was there first and cleared out the bottom of the original hole which didn't make it look any more hopeful, but we'd better check again in daylight! Mike then arrived with the scaffolding and set up a tripod over the middle hole which allowed Mark & myself to clear most of the mud out, plus the boulder that we dropped in on the first week. A sudden downpour demonstrated that the water in this hole is disappearing down the slot that Leonie opened up under the ladder and down the hole at the back, which after a bit of clearance is currently body-sized but choked with mud and small rocks. (Couple more frogs still require rescue).
After Henry arrived Kevin came over and whilst Henry started digging the big hole Kevin used the digger to lift bags out, proving he's getting the hang of this operation by hauling about 6 tonnes of material out (as well as giving a hand emptying them) - still plenty more to go though.
Everyone got thoroughly soaked in the downpour, but at least it made the bags easier to empty as we could pour the mud out and our suits easier to clean!