The Royal Cave at Buchan, Victoria Australia

On Wednesday, February the 16th, we headed out to Orbost to have lunch at a favorite sandwich place. Sandwich places in Australia almost always have vegetarian stuff from which to choose. Shaun got a hamburger and I got a veggie patty which actually had veg like broccoli and peas in the patty instead of soy. Very good. But it left me wishing I had gotten the beet and sprout sandwich I had gotten the last time.

From there we headed up into the hills to find Buchan once again. I had forgotten how windy and narrow the roads are but Buchan is worth the trip. For years I would beg Shaun to come to Houston and he would email me back or type in the chat "come to Buchan". Buchan is pronounced "Buck - en".

While waiting for the tour to begin, sat at the picnic tables and remembered back to the time two years ago when we were playing backgammon here. Now I am expert at backgammon (*I* am typing so I can say what I want!) and we forgot to bring the board. So we played with the kangaroos.

It's a 5 minute walk up the hill from the picnic ground to the Royal Cave which was discovered by Frank moon in 1910, three years after discovering the Fairy Cave (both part of the B-4 cave system). They manufactured an entrance tunnel and opened the cave to the public in 1913.

The caves are formed by underground rivers cutting through limestone. As each raindrop comes through the roof, it deposits calcite which crystallises in a small ring. In time, stalactites are formed on the roof of the cave, and stalagmites build up from droplets which fall to the floor. (That bit of info comes from the Victoria Parks Website on the Buchan Caves.)

The limestone stalagtites and stalagmites are fragile limestone. It's important to not touch anything. Touching the formations will discolor them or cause thousands of years of creation to just snap right off. Because of this, chicken wire protects us from doing damage in the most delicate areas. There are plenty of areas where we get to see the formations freely, as you can see by the pictures.

The caves can be enjoyed repeatedly. There is so much to retain, going back a second year to take it all in and view the changes would still prove rewarding. The walkway is lighted and there are handrails. There is a very skinny part of the tour that the tour guide calls the Jenny craig section. Anyone who can't get thru must go to Jenny Craig. I got thru, just barely. Picture below :-)
cool

Click on the picture below to briefly listen to the tour guide.