The Margaret River Region is as spectacular underneath the ground as it is on top. Over 100 highly decorated limestone caves lay beneath the surface of the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge. Formed approximately 1 million years ago, a number of these complex and fragile karst systems are open to the public. We had visited Jewel Cave and Mammoth Cave more than 20 years ago. For this trip, we chose to visit Lake Cave.
We reached the Visitor Centre at about 2pm and bought the tickets for the 2:30pm cave tour. While waiting, we browsed through the exhibits that showcase the importance of the conservation of caves and shares local fossil findings. Here we also learned all about caves, their history, hydrology, geology, and ecology.
The cave tour started from the visitor center and we first walked through a forest till we saw the stairs descending into a sinkhole.
There are a total of 350 steps to reach the cave entrance. It may be a bit challenging for people who are not physically fit. The trek into the cave is difficult but the guide does give you plenty of time and the walk back up is completely at your own pace. We took a rest halfway through the descent at a platform and the tour guide started briefing us about the cave.
Lake Cave was opened to the public in 1901. A wooden staircase was built to enable visitors to get down into the doline and an earthen pathway was laid down the centre of the cave for easy access. The cave at this time was called “Queen of the Earth”.
Lake Cave is the deepest tourist cave in the South-West with a depth of 62 metres; the lake chamber is 82 metres long. The Lake Cave doline was once an extensive underground cavern which collapsed, forming a deep hole with a sloping floor leading to a small entrance into the cave.
We continued our descent into Lake Cave after the short break.
Once we were inside Lake Cave, we were amazed by this stunning crystal wonderland, situated deep beneath the earth.
As we walked deeper into the cave, we saw the underground lake, which is formed by a stream flowing through the cave.
It is without doubt one of the most beautiful limestone caves in Western Australia.
Lake Cave is known for a spectacular formation called the Suspended Table (below). Two columns support a sheet of flowstone between them, which is suspended only a few centimeters above the stream.
Straws are long, thin stalactites with a hollow centre resembling a drinking straw in appearance. Numerous straws hang from the roof of Lake Cave and we were completely mesmerized by them.
The tour guide then switched on/off the different colour lightings in the cave to allow us to view the beautiful reflections over this beautiful underground lake.
This was our first time seeing a lake of this size in a cave. We spent slightly more than half an hour inside this cave before exiting to the daylight.
It's time to ascend to the top via the 350 steps stairs. Fortunately, we could do it at our own pace. Really tiring after the climb back to the top.
Following is a video of our Lake Cave Tour.
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