Tag: Mammoth Cave

Mammoth Cave

The Leeuwin – Naturaliste Ridge is a limestone ridge formed one million years ago and runs between Cape Leeuwin in the south and Cape Naturaliste in the north in the Margaret River region of Western Australia. The ridge now falls within the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park.

Cave systems are commonly found in limestone areas. Acidic rainwater and underground streams can dissolve away the limestone creating cavities in the rock. Over time these cavities are gradually expanded into the caves we see today. The caves often contain structures such as stalactites and stalagmites formed from min real rich water dripping through the roof of a cave. These structures develop very slowly, over thousands of years, to form the wonderful displays we marvel at in cave systems.

The Leeuwin-Naturaliste ridge is dotted with caves systems along its length, many of which are open to the public. We chose to visit Mammoth Cave as it is only a short drive from the town of Margaret River which was our base for our stay in the region. The cave is open daily from 9am to 5pm with the last entry to the cave being at 4pm. It is a self guided audio tour and this is available in several languages, the guide was easy to use and very informative, sound quality was good. Caves systems are much cooler than the outside air temperature so it is a good idea to dress in layers for your visit.

The walk through the cave system is circular and involves a series of boardwalks and platforms. There are some steps to climb but it is possible to visit the first chamber without any steps. The exit from the cave leaves you with a short walk through the trees of the Marri forest back to the visitor centre and car park. The tour takes around an hour if you ever a gentle stroll through the system and stop frequently to admire the rock formations and take plenty of photographs.

Boardwalk entrance to the cave system

There some wonderful, breath taking formations and lighting is used to ensure you see them at their best. The cave contains a fossilised jawbone of Zygomaturus, a giant plant marsupial similar in appearance to the modern day wombat. It has been dated by scientists as being around 50,000 years old, giving a unique glimpse in to what some of the wildlife was like in the area in prehistoric times.

It is difficult with a simple photograph to capture the enormity and beauty of the caverns and formations on view. if you are fortunate enough to be in the Margaret River region go and take a look, you won’t be disappointed.

5 Reasons to Visit The Margaret River Region

The town of Margaret River is 277km south of Perth in Western Australia and is a good three hour drive. The distance means that it is better to plan to visit the region for a few days rather than just take a day trip from the city and the town of Margaret River makes for a good base. The town has a good variety of cafes, bars, restaurants and shops as well as an excellent Farmers market which is held every Saturday morning.

We rented a very well equipped Airbnb apartment just a short walk from the town centre and we were very pleased with our choice. we very much enjoyed our four day stay in the region and would thoroughly recommend a visit if you are visiting Perth.

The Margaret River wine region. The Margaret River produces less than three percent of the wine made in Australia but twenty percent of the countries premium wines so this is the area to visit if you want to try some of Australias best wines. There are over two hundred wineries in the region and many have cellar doors open for tastings for only a few dollars. Some of our favourite visits were to Vasse Felix, Cullen, McHenry Hohnen and Domaine Naturaliste.

Beaches. The town of Margaret River is only 9Km inland from the Indian Ocean so a visit to a beach while you are in the area is a must. Prevelly is the closest and is a lovely white sand beach and just a short walk away from the mouth of the Margaret River itself which is a good place to rent a kayak if the fancy takes you. As you might expect surfing is a very popular activity in this part of Western Australia and if you don’t fancy having a go yourself there are excellent viewing platforms for you to catch the action at Surfers Point. Gnarabup beach is also pretty close to town. There are ofd course many others in the area if you don’t mind a slightly longer drive.

Cape Naturaliste. The cape is in the north of the Margaret River region just north west of the town of Duinsborough. Its beautiful here with some excellent beaches at Eagle Bay, Meelup and Bunker Bay. There is a nice short walking track around the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse which gives you a good feel sense of the landscape and its vegetation as well as affording some excellent views. Close to Eagle Bay Beach is the Eagle Bay Brewing Company, a small microbrewery, restaurant and vineyard, it ticks all the right boxes in my opinion.


Caves. The limestone caves, located in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste ridge, formed one million years ago and are well worth investigating if you feel like you need a break from beaches and wine tasting. Four caves are open to the public, all are spectacular but do have slightly different viewing options. We only had time to visit one and chose Mammoth Cave as it was relatively close to the town of Margaret River and offered a self guided tour using personal headsets to provide a commentary. Self guided means that you can go at your own pace and enjoy the spectacular rock formations. Close by is Lake Cave, the smallest and deepest cave so it has plenty of stairs to climb. Jewel Cave is the largest and tours are fully guided. Ngilgi Cave is in the north of the region and a visit here can be combined with a trip to Cape Naturaliste. Have a look here for some useful information to help you make the best choice of cave to visit.

Cape to Cape Track. The track is a long distance walking route along the Leeuwin-Naturaliste ridge joint Cape Leeuwin in the south to Cape Naturaliste in the north. It is 123Km in length and includes cliff top, beach, bush and forest walking. It can be walked as a self guided trek or you can join a guided, small group walk. Conversely if you don’t have the time to spare to complete the whole walk you could walk a small section of the track as a day walk. There are many different options available.