Final days in Phong Nha

So that's it! We've done our final Hang Son Doong tour and now we have a day left in which to clean up and pack.

Rainy Phong Nha

This last month has really flown by, we've done two Son Doong tours, plus a couple of exploration trips (which I've already blogged about). Below are a few pictures from the last month.

Nhia, resting at our lunch spot.

It's been a month of sunshine and showers, and our first tour of the month was no exception.

Here comes the rain again

Shortly after lunch the heavens opened and we took shelter for a short while at a convenient rock over hang.

Second river crossing in Son Doong, bridges now permanent

After the rain, it was an uneventful trip into Son Doong, although it was different as six of the customers were a film crew from Singapore who were doing a travel show 'Adventure Duo' (only on 5).

Doline One from the top of the Hand of Dog

It was my turn to climb the Hand of Dog to pose for pictures and as I arrived at the top I climbed through a layer of mist to clear views.

Plant life, enjoying the sun

One advantage of the filming was that we were a little slower than normal, meaning that we were at the top of the doline when the sunbeams arrived.

Doline One, more sunbeams

At this time of year the sunbeams last for a long time so we still made it down to the bottom in time for the 'show'.

The only way is down

This bat was crawling around at the bottom, I think it might have been ill, which is why it was not moving much.

Pardon, please speak louder

However, it did perk up for long enough to pose for this picture.

Sometimes we walk at a snails pace, this chap overtook us

Nothing else to note on this tour, except that the drone pilot had done a crash course in flying, except that he had not managed the landing part, and kept crashing.

Hmmmm

In between tours we tried out a new method for controlling foot rot. Sweeny had discovered that Potassium Permanganate solution was reckoned to be the most effective cure, so we gave it a go with some Pot parties for Watto, Sweeny and myself.

The ultimate butterfly picture

Our final tour continued in a similar style, Ruth has been taking pictures of butterflies all year, she finally managed to get probably the best ever.

Not quite pearly white

I went slightly off route between the two dolines, and found some perfectly round pearls, they were quite big too.

Village Chieftans

As we passed through the Bru Van Keo village we said our final goodbyes, until next year.