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Published: June 17th 2015
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Mammoth cave
On our way in Firstly - Happy Birthday Kirby!!!! Yep we've managed to miss another family birthday, sadly. But we've had a fun facetime call with Kirby tonight including very close up shots of Emilia and Tysons nostrils! ha ha kids don't quite get face time, but its a lot of fun!
So tonight we have stopped at a small town called Pemberton. The weather has turned and isn't great, with a lot of steady rain, so we didnt want to keep driving too far. Its chilly and my shorts have been permanently stored now 😞
This morning we went into Margaret River town for a coffee and look around. Rob agreed it's very much like a Yarra Glen. If you were into wineries etc, it would be a lovely place to base yourself and go on tours, there's so many wineries in close proximity.
Then we made our way south along a road called Caves road, very aptly named. There were quite a number of caves announced along the way. We particularly wanted to see Mammoth caves and Lake caves. Only 20 minutes out of Margaret river we found the Mammoth caves. The signs arent posted well and the quick stop
Mammoth cave
The entrance is very unassuming saw a ute nearly end up in the back of the Bago! But alls well. We made our way into the visitors centre and paid our money. Mammoth is a self guided cave system and goes along for about 500 metres and underground about 30 metres. They are called mammoth for a reason and its huge inside. The entrance is unassuming, but once inside it opens up massively. You climb quite a lot of stairs once insde. You get a little recorded audio to listen to and it was brilliant! Hope the photos help to show this, but like most things its best seen 'in the flesh' so to speak. This ones also famous because paleontological remains of extinct animals have been found. Archeologists would love it!
We spent quite a while wandering through, it was incredibly fascinating and also intensely peaceful.. You cannot imagine what it must have been like for the people all those years ago when they explored with nothing but candles, lanterns and even sometimes later on, flares.
Once you come out to the surface you walk through beautiful bushland and pass through huge marri trees. Well worth the visit.
We then headed
Mammoth cave
See the people on the stairs up there! Shows how big this cave is off to the next lot of caves called the Lake caves. These caves only offer guided tours so we had to wait around for a while till the next one began. They had a display area here and it included a mini cave in the wall you could try and squeeze through! We both had a shot but I chickened out and Rob couldnt bend his knee so that was that!
These ones are different in that you have to climb down a long way before you even enter into them and then climb even further down once inside. 300 stairs apparently. You knew you were going to have to climb back up too... Oh dear.
The guide was fabulous, and very knowledgeable. Its gob smacking, a massive, massive hole deep into the earth. Going down the last set of steps, you have to duck right down so you dont smash your head on the roof.
We learned about the stalictites and stalicmites, columns and straws. Calcium carbonate, limestone, drips of water that take years to make their way from being a drop of rain to a tiny, tiny addition to the calcium carbonate straws hanging from
the ceiling of these caves. The guide showed us a straw that had been marked in the 1950's and it was now about 4 centimetres longer. So 50 years to grow 4cm's..
Lake cave is special because it is still forming. And it has an underground lake, also unusual. It was beginning to dry up a few years ago but things have changed and it is increasing by a millimetre a day now (think that was right...) It also has a natural structure hanging from the ceiling known as the suspended table. It hangs above the lake and looks spectacular. I have some photos but you can only do so much with a camera. Its only a relatively short cave but when we got to the end, we sat and the guide turned the lights out, then turned sections on gradually. The reflection of the lake was superb! I would recommend these caves if you were ever over this way. Beautiful.
We left there and drove a further 130 k's before pulling in for the night. We got as far as Pemberton and pulled up stakes for the night. Its pretty wet and cold so we are definitely
Mammoth cave
Its very cathedral like acclimatising. I did have a look around before it got too dark and discovered that the Bibbulman walking track runs through the Gloucester forest that is just behind us. You may remember I saw the start of that 1000 k track back up in Kalumunda in Perth. You have walked about 550 k's by the time you get here I think. A bit of a way to go!
Well stay warm all, we will certainly try. Bought 2 hot water bottles yesterday so they will be helpful! A big chnage from the head baking we got in Darwin and Broome... Oh well...
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