![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gemfyreThe Lleeuwin-Naturaliste Peninsula in South-West Australia is famous for a few reasons. The surf is renowned, the wine region is acclaimed, and the sand blown onto bedrock by a wild surf and winds has created one of the world's best Karst systems, riddled with fascinating caves. (Karst is landscape made of limestone riddled with caves - water dissolves limestone, this water + limestone produces the beautiful formations found in limestone caves).
Most locals and tourists are familiar with the current four tourist caves - Jewel Cave, Lake Cave, Mammoth Cave and Ngilgi Cave (which is still known by it's former name - Yallingup Cave - to many). Recently DEC has opened two "Adventure Caves" (no lighting) - Giants and Calgardup cave, but there are many other caves here and many more were open to the general public in the early 1900's. Some were developed early on, but never actually ended up open to the public.
Cavers know where they are, and now there are restoration programs, and restricted access and such, but unfortunately in the years between much vandalism has occurred. I wonder how it feels to be one of these fools who in a split second stumble destroyed something that took thousands of years to form.
So, on to the caves! Just a note, the majority of the info here has come from the WASG website and all but the photos of Yallingup Cave (which I took a few weeks ago) are from that website too. Go take a look at it! It has a bunch more info and more stunning photos (as well as some of shocking cave vandalism).
The Tourist Caves
Ngilgi Cave
I'm not sure when the changed the name of this cave. It used to be named after the town it is near, but is now named after an Aboriginal legend. Apparently Ngilgi is pronounced "Nilgi". The entrance to this cave is a wide solution pipe which now has a stairwell built into it. From the first landing you can see the huge chamber to the left and to the right stairs lead into the rest of the developed part of the cave. This is an at-your-own-pace tour, with signs dotted throughout the pathway explaining formations and history, and a guide at a table in the middle to answer any questions you may have. Ngilgi is famous for it's numerous shawl formations. Fossils of unfortunate animals have also been discovered here. If the regular tour isn't enough for you, you can also take a torchlight tour, or go all out and explore further areas of the cave on an adventure caving tour.
Click here to see photos that I took when I visited this cave in July.
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave is the only cave in the area which is partially accessible to wheelchairs. This is because it is basically a tunnel running beneath Caves Road - you enter at one end and emerge at the other. Mammoth is famous for the prehistoric fossils it has yielded - including one of a Thylacine. Instead of a guided tour, you're given an MP3 player with information to listen to as you wander through the cave at your pace. Once you reach the far end you can either walk back through the bush, or traverse the cave once more.
A flowstone formation in Mammoth Cave - sometimes known as the Karri Forest.
Lake Cave
The first thing you notice about Lake Cave is the part of it that isn't a cave anymore. Sometime in the distant past one of it's caverns collapsed to form a huge doline (sinkhole) in the forest floor. Huge karri trees grow within the hole, and barely peek over the top. Needless to say, there are a few steps (about 300) to descend before you get to the actual cave, which is relatively small, only a single chamber accessible. The cave is named after the water body that dominates it, which is actually a stream, not a lake. It's most distinctive and most photographed feature is the "Suspended Table". Over the years two stalactites and two stalagmites joined to form columns, and the continuing water flow created a plate of calcite between them. As the stream washed the sand away from underneath the calcite plate, it became suspended above the water (today it hovers about 20cm above the lake surface). The whole formation is thought to weigh at least 5 tonnes. Unfortunately due to excessive water use couple with climate change, the level of the lake is lowering at an alarming rate.
The Suspended Table - Lake Cave's most famous feature.
Jewel Cave
Jewel Cave was only discovered in 1956, by a keen caver abseiling down a narrow solution pipe. There is a ladder hanging from this hole that you can see inside the cave, but a large entrance has been created for the public to enter easily. 40% of this cave has been developed for tourism, and it is known for being one of the prettiest caves - mainly due to spectacular reflections in the pools. However many of these pools have lowered levels or have dried up altogether over recent years. Jewel Cave's most outstanding features are the organ pipes - a row of stalactites growing close together, and the longest straw to be found in a tourist cave - measuring 5.8 metres.
Jewel Cave before it was renovated to accommodate tourists.
"The Organ Pipes"
A lot of the following is in note form. If you want much more info (and pictures), visit the WASG website (most of the photos in this post are credited to this site).
"Adventure" Caves
These caves are open to the public, but require a bit more fitness and a willingness to get dirty. Visitors must carry torches and/or headlamps because they are not lit by electric lights.
Yallingup Cave
Hang on, didn't I list this as a tourist cave? Indeed I did, but there are further areas of the cave that you can expore by torchlight, and you may be required to crawl and squeeze through some tight gaps.
Calgardup Cave
Calgardup Cave was once a tourist cave (??check info??) but is now managed by the DEC. It is decked out with easy to traverse stairways and boardwalks, but no lights. DEC provides helmets and torches with the entry fee. Calgardup is also the site of one of the saddest happenings in the SW caves. In the early 1900's it's formation known as the Meteoric Shower was one of the most stunning displays of crystal encrusted straws in the world - but sometime in the intervening years between then and now every one of these straws has been destroyed. Just look at the photos, it's disgusting and saddening and all I have to do is wonder why people would commit such destruction.
The "Meteoric Shower" circa 1903.
What remains of the shower - pretty much nothing.
Giants
Giants Cave is also managed by DEC these days, but requires a bit of true caving experience because it isn't fully pathed inside. I don't know much about this cave.
Level 1 Restricted Caves - no special equipment/experience
Nannup
Blackboy Hollow - ex-tourist
Devil's Lair - This cave is well known for the aboriginal artifacts found within.
Golgotha - once a public cave, Golgotha housed the largest shawl in SWWA, destroyed in 1994.
The huge shawl that used to be in Golgotha Cave.
Moondyne - once public, closed 1958. Guided cave tours started in 1993, I'm not sure if they're still going.
Level 2 Restricted Caves - special equipment/experience required - abseiling, ducks etc.
Bride - previously a tourist cave - until the stairs burned down. The interior stairs and boardwalks are now buried in sand. I remember visiting this cave back in 1993 - there is a viewing platform for the average Joe to go and have a look at just how big the doline is.
Arumvale Pipe and Cave
Easter Cave
Now Easter Cave deserves it's own paragraph. Easter is the longest cave in the SW at 7.5km in length. It is also known for having some of the most impressive formations. The cave used to be quite wet and involved a few ducks (areas where you had to completely submerse to go deeper into the cave), but it has dried out a lot in recent years.
An impressive straw pendulite. Unfortunately a careless caver backed into it and it is no more.
"The Epstein Sculpture" - a massive helectite.
Strongs Cave - Strongs Cave houses one of the longest straws in the world at 6m long. It also houses The Judge's Wig, an impressive stalactite formation.
The record breaking straw is among these roots and other cave straws.
The spectacular Judge's Wig
Labyrinth - A level 2 cave. You'll need quite a bit of experience for this one, it's muddy and wet inside.
Crystal
Dingo - Dingo cave housed another unique formation which has been ruined, it was a crystalline formation known as the Christmas Tree. There is also a bat entombed in the flowstone.
The Christmas Tree formation.
Old Kudardup - this was the first cave discovered in the SW system
Deeondeeup
Harley's - A cave that is accessed via a 15m drop through a solution pipe. At ground level the entrance to this cave is 100m from the entrance to Labyrinth cave, but underground the two caves are only 1m apart in one spot.
Bat
Quinninup Lake - the only cave with (live) bats
Snake Pit
Cowaramup
Meekadorabee
Milligan's - previously a tourist cave, now level 2
Wallcliffe - ex-tourist
Beenup
Witchcliffe - once public
Northcote Grotto
Ketelack
Lost Pearl
Deepdene - A cave that was partly developed but never opened to public, known for it's helectite formations.
Mill
Rainbow
Foxhole
Another notable formation that has been destroyed is the Halo. I don't know which cave this formation was in.
All these photos (and others) with more info can be found here.
Most locals and tourists are familiar with the current four tourist caves - Jewel Cave, Lake Cave, Mammoth Cave and Ngilgi Cave (which is still known by it's former name - Yallingup Cave - to many). Recently DEC has opened two "Adventure Caves" (no lighting) - Giants and Calgardup cave, but there are many other caves here and many more were open to the general public in the early 1900's. Some were developed early on, but never actually ended up open to the public.
Cavers know where they are, and now there are restoration programs, and restricted access and such, but unfortunately in the years between much vandalism has occurred. I wonder how it feels to be one of these fools who in a split second stumble destroyed something that took thousands of years to form.
So, on to the caves! Just a note, the majority of the info here has come from the WASG website and all but the photos of Yallingup Cave (which I took a few weeks ago) are from that website too. Go take a look at it! It has a bunch more info and more stunning photos (as well as some of shocking cave vandalism).
The Tourist Caves
Ngilgi Cave
I'm not sure when the changed the name of this cave. It used to be named after the town it is near, but is now named after an Aboriginal legend. Apparently Ngilgi is pronounced "Nilgi". The entrance to this cave is a wide solution pipe which now has a stairwell built into it. From the first landing you can see the huge chamber to the left and to the right stairs lead into the rest of the developed part of the cave. This is an at-your-own-pace tour, with signs dotted throughout the pathway explaining formations and history, and a guide at a table in the middle to answer any questions you may have. Ngilgi is famous for it's numerous shawl formations. Fossils of unfortunate animals have also been discovered here. If the regular tour isn't enough for you, you can also take a torchlight tour, or go all out and explore further areas of the cave on an adventure caving tour.
Click here to see photos that I took when I visited this cave in July.
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave is the only cave in the area which is partially accessible to wheelchairs. This is because it is basically a tunnel running beneath Caves Road - you enter at one end and emerge at the other. Mammoth is famous for the prehistoric fossils it has yielded - including one of a Thylacine. Instead of a guided tour, you're given an MP3 player with information to listen to as you wander through the cave at your pace. Once you reach the far end you can either walk back through the bush, or traverse the cave once more.
A flowstone formation in Mammoth Cave - sometimes known as the Karri Forest.
Lake Cave
The first thing you notice about Lake Cave is the part of it that isn't a cave anymore. Sometime in the distant past one of it's caverns collapsed to form a huge doline (sinkhole) in the forest floor. Huge karri trees grow within the hole, and barely peek over the top. Needless to say, there are a few steps (about 300) to descend before you get to the actual cave, which is relatively small, only a single chamber accessible. The cave is named after the water body that dominates it, which is actually a stream, not a lake. It's most distinctive and most photographed feature is the "Suspended Table". Over the years two stalactites and two stalagmites joined to form columns, and the continuing water flow created a plate of calcite between them. As the stream washed the sand away from underneath the calcite plate, it became suspended above the water (today it hovers about 20cm above the lake surface). The whole formation is thought to weigh at least 5 tonnes. Unfortunately due to excessive water use couple with climate change, the level of the lake is lowering at an alarming rate.
The Suspended Table - Lake Cave's most famous feature.
Jewel Cave
Jewel Cave was only discovered in 1956, by a keen caver abseiling down a narrow solution pipe. There is a ladder hanging from this hole that you can see inside the cave, but a large entrance has been created for the public to enter easily. 40% of this cave has been developed for tourism, and it is known for being one of the prettiest caves - mainly due to spectacular reflections in the pools. However many of these pools have lowered levels or have dried up altogether over recent years. Jewel Cave's most outstanding features are the organ pipes - a row of stalactites growing close together, and the longest straw to be found in a tourist cave - measuring 5.8 metres.
Jewel Cave before it was renovated to accommodate tourists.
"The Organ Pipes"
A lot of the following is in note form. If you want much more info (and pictures), visit the WASG website (most of the photos in this post are credited to this site).
"Adventure" Caves
These caves are open to the public, but require a bit more fitness and a willingness to get dirty. Visitors must carry torches and/or headlamps because they are not lit by electric lights.
Yallingup Cave
Hang on, didn't I list this as a tourist cave? Indeed I did, but there are further areas of the cave that you can expore by torchlight, and you may be required to crawl and squeeze through some tight gaps.
Calgardup Cave
Calgardup Cave was once a tourist cave (??check info??) but is now managed by the DEC. It is decked out with easy to traverse stairways and boardwalks, but no lights. DEC provides helmets and torches with the entry fee. Calgardup is also the site of one of the saddest happenings in the SW caves. In the early 1900's it's formation known as the Meteoric Shower was one of the most stunning displays of crystal encrusted straws in the world - but sometime in the intervening years between then and now every one of these straws has been destroyed. Just look at the photos, it's disgusting and saddening and all I have to do is wonder why people would commit such destruction.
The "Meteoric Shower" circa 1903.
What remains of the shower - pretty much nothing.
Giants
Giants Cave is also managed by DEC these days, but requires a bit of true caving experience because it isn't fully pathed inside. I don't know much about this cave.
Level 1 Restricted Caves - no special equipment/experience
Nannup
Blackboy Hollow - ex-tourist
Devil's Lair - This cave is well known for the aboriginal artifacts found within.
Golgotha - once a public cave, Golgotha housed the largest shawl in SWWA, destroyed in 1994.
The huge shawl that used to be in Golgotha Cave.
Moondyne - once public, closed 1958. Guided cave tours started in 1993, I'm not sure if they're still going.
Level 2 Restricted Caves - special equipment/experience required - abseiling, ducks etc.
Bride - previously a tourist cave - until the stairs burned down. The interior stairs and boardwalks are now buried in sand. I remember visiting this cave back in 1993 - there is a viewing platform for the average Joe to go and have a look at just how big the doline is.
Arumvale Pipe and Cave
Easter Cave
Now Easter Cave deserves it's own paragraph. Easter is the longest cave in the SW at 7.5km in length. It is also known for having some of the most impressive formations. The cave used to be quite wet and involved a few ducks (areas where you had to completely submerse to go deeper into the cave), but it has dried out a lot in recent years.
An impressive straw pendulite. Unfortunately a careless caver backed into it and it is no more.
"The Epstein Sculpture" - a massive helectite.
Strongs Cave - Strongs Cave houses one of the longest straws in the world at 6m long. It also houses The Judge's Wig, an impressive stalactite formation.
The record breaking straw is among these roots and other cave straws.
The spectacular Judge's Wig
Labyrinth - A level 2 cave. You'll need quite a bit of experience for this one, it's muddy and wet inside.
Crystal
Dingo - Dingo cave housed another unique formation which has been ruined, it was a crystalline formation known as the Christmas Tree. There is also a bat entombed in the flowstone.
The Christmas Tree formation.
Old Kudardup - this was the first cave discovered in the SW system
Deeondeeup
Harley's - A cave that is accessed via a 15m drop through a solution pipe. At ground level the entrance to this cave is 100m from the entrance to Labyrinth cave, but underground the two caves are only 1m apart in one spot.
Bat
Quinninup Lake - the only cave with (live) bats
Snake Pit
Cowaramup
Meekadorabee
Milligan's - previously a tourist cave, now level 2
Wallcliffe - ex-tourist
Beenup
Witchcliffe - once public
Northcote Grotto
Ketelack
Lost Pearl
Deepdene - A cave that was partly developed but never opened to public, known for it's helectite formations.
Mill
Rainbow
Foxhole
Another notable formation that has been destroyed is the Halo. I don't know which cave this formation was in.
All these photos (and others) with more info can be found here.
