Western Australia 2014 Day 4 part 1 - [[ Augusta: Lake cave + Jewel cave ]]

Our day began with a hearty breakfast at Margaret River Bakery. Found this while go ogling and it turned out to be my favourite cafe throughout the trip!

The cafe has a vintage vibe to it. Every aspect of the cafe was so lovely decorated, it drew me back the next day for breakfast!

The menu was quite extensive with lots of pastries and all day breakfast to choose from! We were totally spoilt for choice!

In the end this was what we decided on. The portion was so huge! I think each dish can serve 2!

The mister 's banana pancake which came in a thick stack of threes!

KX'S choice of big breakfast: bacon with scrambles, mushrooms and in house whole wheat bread. This was seriously so huge that the man with big appetite can't finish it too!

Needless to guess, this is yours truly 's choice. Honey Greek yogurt with granola and cut fresh fruits! Insanely huge! It kept me full for most of the day.

After out hearty breakfast, we were off to a day of exploring caves!

We finally arrived at our first destination which was the lake cave.

Lake cave can only be visited with a guided tour. Tour starts from 9.30am daily, departing at every hour till 3.30pm. The tour lasted for an hour.

Lake cave is named after a lake within the cave. This is the view from the event deck which is made of timbre. Events for a 150 or so people can be held here, which in my opinion, can be quite pretty as it over looks the cave entrance, surrounded by nature and last but not least, it has a couple of glass portholes that you can step on and peep down into the doline. 

So before the start of our exploration, we had to climb down a flight of steps.

We were briefed of the dos and don'ts just outside the cave before we journeyed down another flights of steps deep into the cave.

Did I mentioned, it's a total 350 steps down and other 350 steps up? Yup,  please think twice before going on this exploration. Not for the faint hearted.

Lake cave's depth stands at 62 meters deep. This makes it the deepest cave in Western Australia! 

The moment you enter, you will be greeted with the beautiful limestone formations!

This is the highlight of the cave: The suspended table. A 5 tonne limestone that formed naturally, held suspended above the lake! Impressive, isn't it? Loves the works of nature.

As you can see, it's an hour of limestone and more limestone. Decide for yourself whether this is your kind of thing. I would recommend visiting though. It's pretty amazing to be seeing these limestone formations for the first time.

This cave is relatively safe hence suitable for families with kids. The cave is well lit and the guide is extemely caution, warning everyone of any uneven or slippery paths ahead. However, if you have elderly in your group, you may want to reconsider as the elderly may have some difficulties accessing the cave since there's a lot of climbing to be done.

The event deck that I mentioned above with the porthole.

Next off, we headed to Jewel cave.

So the name for Jewel cave derived from the calcite crystals that lined the cave's walls. In all honesty, it looks just like the limestone in Lake caves though. Maybe that's just me!

As you can see there's like a whole lot of different kind of calcite crystals which are named differently. I admit I can't remember the names so I shan't shame myself on this! :p

So there is a section where the guide will led a section of the wall with these crystals to show you how  these gems illuminate under light. 

Err. I didn't really see the glitz in them though. :×

As mentioned before, everything looks to me like limestone and oh boy~ there's really limestone in the caves! The only name I remembered were Stalactites and Stalagmites. The difference? One is formed on the ceiling and one on the ground! 

Stalactites are formed by the residues of minerals from the water dripping through the ceiling of the cave while Stalagmites are formed by the accumulation of deposits from the dripping water through the ceiling.

Oh man, I'm proud of myself for remembering these short scientific facts! *lol*

The tour lasted for at most an hour with tours running like every 30minutes? Timing varies throughout the different seasons so do your homework to schedule your time!

2 caves had us running around for half a day! Time is never enough! Every road trip is tediously far! This is when I start to feel fortunate staying in Singapore. One end to the other only takes at most an hour! 

OK enough of my nonsense. Next up we headed to the famous Cape Leeuwin and ended off exploring Mammoth cave which I will continue blogging in my next post! :)

Can you spot the lighthouse? :)

The Land of Oz 2014 Day 1- [[ Mandurah + Dolphine Quay + Busselton]]

The Land of Oz 2014 Day 2-[[ Busselton Jetty + Canel Rocks+Cape Naturaliste]]

The Land of Oz 2014 Day 3- [[ Whale watching + Margaret River]]

The Land of Oz 2014 Day 4 Part 2-[[ Cape Leeuwin + Mammoth Cave]]

The Land of Oz 2014 Day 5 [[Skydiving with Southern Sky Divers]]

The Land of Oz 2014 Day 6 [[Pinnacles + Lancelin Sand Dune]]

The Land of Oz 2014 Day 7 [[ Caversham Wildlife Park]]