The Crystal Wonderland (Lake Cave, Western Australia)

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Margaret River, south of Perth in the remote south-west corner of Australia, is a travellers delight rich in great sights and experiences. Blessed with a Mediterranean climate, fine soils for wine production, world class surf beaches and towering karri forests which blaze in a kaleidoscope of colour in spring during the wildflower season, Margaret River has dramatically grown in popularity in the last ten years.

With its limestone base, nature has worked its magic over many years leaving a number of mesmerising show caves, including Lake Cave, to wander and enjoy.

Starting with a long walk down some 350 stairs (though you are reminded that this is the path out too) past groves of slender statuesque karri trees, which stand over 20 metres in height, the cave entrance beckons in a gaping collapsed cavern. It feels like entering Middle Earth with spider webs hanging from above and a deep ladder marking the first steps into the inky depths below.

As your eyes adjust from the dazzling sunshine, you can see a tranquil lake covers much of the main chamber in this underground wonderland. Upset only by the occasional drip from above, it creates a perfect mirror for the delicate expressive crystalline formations. Giant straws fall from the cave’s ceiling built over many thousands of years as a miniscule ring deposit of calcite remain from each delicate drop of the limestone-enriched water.


Undoubtedly, the highlight is the Suspended Table. A large crystalline slab supported from above by a pair of columns hangs tantalisingly a few centimetres above the subterranean lake. The floor on which it once sat was swept away leaving this five tonne formation dangling in thin air.

At the end of the cave there are seats where you can enjoy the peaceful environment, the unusual decorations and the remarkable reflections in the lake. Lights are extinguished to get a true feeling of suffocating darkness (and no, you can’t see your hand even an inch away from your face!) before an array of coloured lights transforms the cave into a fairy grotto shimmering before your eyes (see lead photo – note the suspended table in the centre of the image).

Lake Cave is one of several caves in the Margaret River region and makes for a worthwhile hour to explore this crystal fantasy world.

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