Essentials
LakeCaveEcoCentre:0 0 - 61- 8 - 9757-7411;w w w.m a r g a r e t
riverattractions.com;LakeCave,CavesRoad,ForestGrove;
9am– 5pm;`1,6 0 0T
HEsunisshiningoverMargaretRiverthedaywedecidetofollowthose
firstexplorers’footstepsintoLakeCave,oneofWesternAustralia’s
moststunninglimestonecavesontheLeeuwin-NaturalisteRidge.
Noropesorcandlesarenownecessary.Aseriesofstairstakesusever
downwards,firsttoastoppingareafromwherewegetanant’seyeview
ofthe150-year-oldkarritreesformingtheperipheryofthiscavernthatcocoons
anincredibleamphitheatreofstone.Gothic-lookingcrystalformations,algaegrowth,
blackeningbyfire,allleadtheeyeeverupwardtoaraggedcircleofblueskyatthetop.
Weclimbdownfurther,pastTitanicRock,pastHeadacheRock(duckorfindout
why)andSplittingHeadacheRock(more,muchmoreofthesame)intoDeepCave.
Clutchingtherailingswhiledescendingthislaststeepishladderisrecommended;
railingsaretheonlythingwe’reallowedtotouchdownhere–alongwiththe
no-selfies-tripods-food-and-drinkrules.
Thecaveis 62 metreslong,andalive;wehearitsteadilydrippingawayaswewalk
gingerlyontheboardwalksintothedeepeningdarknessattheend.Inthis,theonly
caveontheLeeuwin-NaturalisteRidgethathasapermanentlake,thebeauty
ofthelimestoneformationsisstupefyingandethereal.Arecentinvestmentin
atmosphericlightingmakesiteasiertoappreciateflowsandshapes;wehold
a“sacrificial”eggoflimestone(notouchingotherwise,remember),andspend
thatbreathless-wish-it-would-get-over-alreadymomentin‘cavedarkness’.
Outsideagain,pastthetwoHeadacheRocks,youareremindedagainthatthis
isWesternAustralian’sdeepesttouristcave.It’salongwaydown(376steps),
andalongwayup(also 376 steps,duh),buttherearelandingplacesevery 20 steps
atwhich,asadvisedbythekindlyguides,IpretendI’mstoppingtotakephotos.
TOURISM WESTERN AUSTRALIA (1), PRIMROSE MONTEIRO-D’SOUZA (2)I’mtakinglotsofphotos.
- Lake Cave might just be
the most dramatic cave you see - The way down to and up
from Lake Cave comes with
different landing stages
at which to take photos
(read: still your beating heart)