Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 9 . PERTH & WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Mammoth is open from 9am to 5pm (last tour at 4pm); tours of Lake and Jewel
run hourly from 9:30am to the last tour at 3:30pm. Sometimes extra tours are
scheduled during school vacations. The caves are open every day except Christmas.
Book tours through CaveWorks.
Calgardup and Giants caves, run by the Department of Conservation and
Land Management (CALM), are a more challenging experience. The caves are
not electrically lit and there are no guides. Visitors are equipped with helmets,
lamps, and information, and allowed to spend as long as they like exploring.
Calgardup goes to a depth of 27m (81 ft.) and has boardwalks to help negotiate
it. Highlights are the stream system that has trickled through the caves for
150,000 years and the tiny cave creatures that can sometimes be spotted in the
water. Tree roots, mainly from the red gum (marri) trees growing overhead, dangle
down and trail into the water. It will probably take you about 45 minutes to
traverse the length of the cave. Calgardup Cave is on Caves Road, about a 12
minutes’ drive south of Margaret River and 3 minutes north of Conto’s Road
turn-off. It is open daily from 9am to 4.15pm.
Giants Cave, 20 minutes South of Margaret River on Caves Road, is one of
the largest and deepest caves on the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge. It is 575m
(1725 ft.) long and about 86m (258 ft.) deep. Giants is a ‘through-fare’ cave—
you enter and exit some distance apart. Some areas of Giants Cave are on the
natural floor of the cave, while in other areas you will have to climb ladders and
staircases to get through. This is a dark and challenging cave, so you need to be
quite fit and at least over 6 years of age. Make sure you wear sturdy shoes or
boots. Entry is from 9:30am–3:30pm school and public holidays, and some
other times. Call the information center (see below) to find out.
Entry to Calgardup and Giants each costs A$10 (US$6.50) per adult, A$5
(US$3.25) per child under 16, or A$30 (US$20) family of 6 (includes helmets
and torches). Buy your tickets at the National Park Information Centre (& 08/
9757 7422) at Calgardup Cave. It also has walking maps and information on
camping sites and other activities in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park.
Another “adventure cave” where you get down and dirty crawling on your
hands and knees, in the protective clothing supplied, is offered at Ngilgi Cave,
Caves Road, Yallingup (& 08/9755 2152), for A$40 (US$26) for anyone over
15. It departs daily at 9:30am and takes about 3 hours. Book 24 hours ahead.
Ngilgi’s main chamber has translucent stalactite “shawls,” which anyone can
explore on a semi-guided tour. This costs A$14 (US$9.10) for adults and A$8
(US$5.20) for children 5 to 17, or A$38 (US$25) for a family, and runs halfhourly
from 9:30am, with the last tour at 3:30pm (4pm during school vacations,
5pm during Christmas school vacations). Torchlight tours cost A$14
(US$9.10) adults and A$9 (US$5.85) children (minimum A$80/US$52
group). The cave opens every day except Christmas.
You can pick your own kiwifruit, raspberries, and other fruit at The Berry
Farm, 222 Bessell Rd. outside Margaret River (& 08/9757 5054), or buy attractively
packaged sparkling, dessert, and port wines; jams; and vinegars. The farm is
open daily 10am to 4:30pm (closed Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and
Good Friday).
Try to make time for a tour offered by “Bushtucker Woman” Helen Lee
(& 08/9757 1084 or 0419/91 1971; www.bushtuckertours.com). On one
tour, she has you canoeing up the river, exploring a cave, and eating smoked
emu, grub paté, and other Aboriginal delicacies on a river island. It runs daily
from 10am to 2pm (no tour Tues and Thurs in winter), and costs A$40