Buchan Caves

July 29, 2016
Buchan Caves

G’day g’day!

 

I love a trip to Buchan caves, not least of all because of all the saucy jokes you can make on the way - oh, Buchan oath can you make a good Buchan pun! We came up from Lakes Entrance, a pretty little fishing town with some good camping especially there behind Eastern Beach, lots of mini golf, and a ripper ice creamery. Great place to go in summer for a proper Aussie layabout camp - spend all day at the beach, and all night on the blow-up dreaming you’re still on the boogie board.

 

You get to Buchan from Lakes Entrance by driving Sydney-way on the Princes Highway, and then do the turn off towards Nowa Nowa. Follow the signs to Snowy River country, you can’t miss it.

 

But Buchan is Buchan lovely - haw haw. It really is a slice of heaven though. The traditional owners - the Gunaikurnia - have joint management of the reserve and manage all the camping side of it as well.

 

The camping is perfect, everything you want in a bush camp - lovely grassed sites that feel like you’re way out Woop Woop while still with all the facilities you need.

 

Good just for a day too. Even in the middle of dreary Victorian winter, you can enjoy yourself making a proper fire barbie for the kiddies while they rock hop in the stream. Plenty of play equipment and walks. The waterfall walk is a doozy, just far enough for little legs and ahh, the serenity! Gorgeous. Tire them little legs out on the way back and you’re sure to all get a good night’s sleep in the tent too.

 

And the bird life is wonderful! I don’t think we know how lucky we are down here in Oz to be surrounded by technicolour parrots all the time, but they were out in force today. I’m here with the kids having a bit of a camp in the Buchan Caves Reserve - one of my favourite spots to put up a tent. It’s sheltered, good facilities, plenty to do, and it means you can really enjoy the caves.
Ahh, Buchan caves, what a wonderland they are. The two main ones are the Royal Cave and the Fairy Cave, but it’s a bit much to see them both in one day, in my humble opinion. Of course you can, but they take about an hour to go through each, although, to be honest, you could spend a lot longer in there. The Royal Cave is a little easier on the ole’ ticker if that’s a concern, but both are easy enough walks, only 500 steps each with just a few staircases.

 

And they really are something spectacular. The stalactites and the stalagmites would put Gaudi to shame, and both have unusual features you don’t see other places. The Royal Cave had these two vastly impressive “shield” type stalagmites that came right up out of the ground like huge sparkly crystal scallop shells.

 

I love the calcite pools myself. Oo, you’ve never seen anything like them. Water features that even Jamie Durie couldn’t imagine. Nature really is a wonderful thing.

 




We’ll do the larger Fairy Cave tomorrow.

 

The tour tickets are reasonable, about the same price as you’d pay to see a movie, and if you buy the family ticket for four for both caves, it only works out to be about $11 per person, per tour.

 

So we did the Royal Cave today, and then we stoked up the wood fire BBQ and threw a few snags on for tea, and right now, we’re indulging in some philosophical argey-bargey over a couple of tinnies of Victoria’s finest. What a glamour night it is too. The stars are out in force. We had a few visitors - a couple of friendly magpies came over for a look, and just on dusk, we spotted a few wallabies checking us out. Out here in Snowy River country though, the stars are something magnificent.


Ahh, hear that? The fire is calling. I’ll get back to tipping the hat back and waxing lyrical, shall I?

 

Hooroo for now!

 

 

For more travel stories:

 

Magnetic island: The Great Barrier Reef’s Most Underrated Gem 

The Famous Bloomfield Track: Cape Tribulation to Cooktown 

Australian Outback Adventures: A Beginner’s Guide 

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