The Southwest- part 2

after a chill day in margaret river, john and i woke the next morning and decided to do a hike up the north part of the cape-to-cape trail leading out of gracetown. it was quite a picturesque hike, high above the rocky shore on our way north. when we decided to turn around, we headed down to the shore and clambered over rocks the entire way home. made it a bit more exciting.

that afternoon it was a bit overcast and drizzly, so we all headed off to see the caves. there are 3 major caves that are open to tourists near margaret river. being in a bit of a time crunch, we decided to only attempt one and chose lake cave. it was a good choice.

the entry into lake cave involves going down some 300 stairs into the doline (which is essentially part of the cave thousands of years ago, but fell open and is now a large hole like structure). we met our guide at the base of the doline and continued the walk down into the cave. the entry way was probably 3/4 meter wide and required you to duck as you walked in (even me!). but it was worth it. the cave is simply stunning. my pictures will do no justice, but it was amazing. the water in lake cave is steadily decreasing, and they expect that it'll be dry in 20 years or so. the lighting in the caves was exceptionally well done and emphasized all the neat bits the guide was discussing. what i find particularly interesting is that this cave was discovered by a man, who rapelled down the doline by attaching a rope to a tree, then going into the tiny crevasse on his own, with nothing but some candles to light the way, in chest deep water (at the time). goodness! i would not be so brave.

the next day, we had a bit of sun, so after heading into margaret river again for some errands, we hit the beach for a few hours. but before leaving the region, we had to hit up a few more vineyards and an oil factory. all were successful ventures and we have aquired a large amount of wine and some delicious oils because of this.

on monday morning, we packed up the car again and headed due east for denmark (no, not the country...)