The Grottoes of Rosh Hanikra

July 5^th, 2014

The last day trip in Israel involved heading north to the grottoes of Rosh Hanikra, at the north tip of Israel further north from Haifa at the Lebanese border.  The grottoes are cavernous tunnels formed by the incessant pounding of the sea on the soft chalk rock.  The tunnels run for about 200 metres with numerous inlets from the sea.  To get down to the caves you have to take one of the shortest but also steepest cable cars I’ve ever been on.  The cable runs at a gradient of 60 degrees and only takes about 2 minutes from top to bottom.

Looking south towards Haifa:

The Lebanese border:

The little gondola that could:

The big descent:

Once down on the lower level we watched a short film about the grotto in a small movie theatre that looked like a railroad tunnel...well actually it used to be.  During World War II the British Commonwealth forces blasted a tunnel through it in order to connect the Cairo-Istanbul line.  A railway bridge was destroyed by Jewish underground fighters during the “Night of the Bridges” operation prior to the 1948 War of Israeli Independence.  Since then the railway line was never rebuilt so the tunnels were sealed up.

Heading towards the tunnel theatre:

Nice rocks:

The gondola coming down:

Following the film we walked into the caves and thanks to a fairly windy day, there was definitely some good action inside.  The path walked along the perimeter of some caves with the ocean water swelling up and down.  Occasionally a larger wave caused the water to flood across the path scaring some tourists and exciting others.  I got a bit wet from some spray but it was all in good fun.

Knuffle getting into the excitement:

Wouldn't want to fall in!

You could fit through there Knuffle.

Wave action:

Sheer cliffs:

Back up top:

We drove back to Haifa in order to pick up Naomi’s dog Bella who had been at her parents’ place all week but before going to their place we stopped by the Baha'i Gardens located in Haifa.  It’s a gorgeous stepped garden on the side of the main hill in Haifa but we could only enter into the bottom level and walk up one flight of stairs.  I drooled at the possibility of one of the most extreme bocce games that could be played there.  We continued to tour a bit more around the city and the views from up on the ridge were gorgeous with many kite surfers and windsurfers frolicking in the rolling waves below.  We picked up Bella, I once again was inundated with food from Naomi’s parents and then we drove back to Kfar Saba.

The Baha'i Gardens:

Can you spot me?

Looking back down from as high up as we could go:

The extreme bocce terrain:

Last touristy pic with Naomi in her homeland:

Naomi's town:

The beatiful vista of Haifa:

Bella enjoying her ride back home after a week at the grandparents;

The next day I flew off to England for the next leg of my trip.  The tension in Israel was mounting after the bodies of the three hitchhiking teenagers were found and then a 16 year old Palestinian was murdered so as we drove in to the airport I wasn’t surprised to see some guards with machine guns slung around their neck but it was a bit disconcerting to see their fingers actually on the trigger!  In the airport there was some security screening before you were allowed to check in but this is normal procedure.  I was however happy that Naomi had offered to come in with me and make sure that everything went smoothly.

Thanks so much Naomi for showing me your home country.  I wasn’t in Israel for long but I definitely got a great taste of what this small but diverse country has to offer.  I don’t envy it being surrounded by generally hostile neighbours but they’ve by far got their shit together over their foes so I think they’ll be just fine.

Toda Motek!