Ngilgi Cave/Yallingup Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Off Caves Road, 2km East of Yallingup. 34km from Busselton, 10km from Dunsborough.
Open:	School Holidays: daily 9:30-17 (last entry 16) Summer Holidays: DEC to Jan daily 9-18 (last entry 17) All other times: daily 9:30-16:30 (last entry 15:30) Closed Christmas Day Yallingup Cave: Adventure Tour only after prior booking, minimum two days.
Fee:	Show Cave: Adults NZD 15, Children (5-17) NZD 5, Family (2+) NZD 40. Adventure Tour:* Adults NZD 50 Torch Light Tour: Adults NZD 15, Children (5-17) NZD 10 [2003]
Classification:	Karst cave.
Light:	electric
Dimension:
Guided tours:	Show Cave: every 30min. D=20min. Adventure Tour: D=2.5h to 3.5h Torch Light Tour: D=20min [2003]
Bibliography:
Address:	Ngilgi (Yallingup) Caves, Caves Road, Yallingup WA 6282, Tel: +61-9-9755-2152, Fax: +61-9-9755-2022. Liam Kinsella, Manager. E-mail:
Last update:	$Date: 2007/11/19 21:30:14 $

History


10-OCT-1899		discovered by Edward Dawson looking for stray horses.
11-OCT-1899		first exploration by Edward Dawson, Seymour and Curtis.
1900		first guided tours by Edward Dawson.
1903		electric light installed.
1905		Caves Hotel established.

Description

This cave was originally called Yallingup Cave, after the nearby town. Later it was renamed Ngilgi Cave because of its association with an impressive Aboriginal legend describing the battle between a good spirit named Ngilgi and an evil spirit named Wolgine.

Ngilgi, a good warrior spirit, lived near the sea. Wolgine, an evil spirit, lived in the cave. Concerned about the welfare of his people, Ngilgi gathered together the spirits of the waves, lightning, rain, thunder and wind and they created a huge storm. Ngilgi attacked Wolgine and he gradually drove Wolgine back through the cave. But the battle was so wild, a tunnel collapsed and cut off the cave from the sea. At last Wolgine was driven up through the earth creating the present entrance. Wolgine was banished from the cave and Ngilgi claimed it as his own. Thus the cave became known as Ngilgi's Nurilem.

Aboriginal legend.

This story is very impressive. However it may just tell a true story, a catastrophic event which was witnessed by the locals. During a storm the sea entered the cave system and the forces resulted in a collapse, which can still be seen today as a deep gully a short distance from the cave. Another collapse opened the modern entrance. Wolgine driven up through the present entrance resembles blowing holes, where sea water is pressed into caves and blows out of rearside holes producing impressive fountains of sea water.

The tours into the cave are called semi-guided, which we never heard before. It seems, the guides are available to answer questions but do not explain anything of their own. However, fully guided tours are available to groups on request.

Benath the regular tours there are so called Torch Light Tours, which seem to be about the same, just with torch light instead of the electric light of the cave. They use the tour paths and are safe and suitable for all ages.

The Adventure Caving Tours are much different, as they are real spelunking tours. They are only for people over 15 and in good health, they take about three hours, and they are more expensive. For both special tours bookings are essential.

Ngilgi Cave caves are very young caves in a very young limestones. The aeolian calcarenites formed during the Pleistocene Epoch only one to two million years ago. The surrounding rocks are metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age, which are about the oldest rocks on earth. The cave formation started about 500,000 years ago, the oldest speleothems are dated 318,000 years.

Even more interesting than the geology of the caves is the palaeontologic wealth. Excavations revealed the remains of a tasmanian tiger or thylacine, possums, bats, and kangaroos.

Ngilgi Cave/Yallingup Cave

Useful Information

History

Description

See also