Caver spots moving grass, uncovers one of Victoria’s longest caves

Rep ese tative
image

I
2006,
Aust alia
cave
Kim
Va
Dyke
oticed
somethi g
u usual
while
walki g
th ough
a
ese ve
ea
Bucha
i
Victo ia’s
East
Gippsla d.
A
small
patch
of
g ass
was
movi g,
eve
though
the
su ou di g
vegetatio
was
completely
still
a d
the e
was
o
wi d.Fo
most
people,
the
moveme t
might
have
seemed
i sig ifica t.
Fo
Va
Dyke
a d
he
husba d,
Joh ,
it
suggested
somethi g
hidde
be eath
the
g ou d.
They
bega
diggi g
a d
soo
discove ed
ock,
a d
evide ce
of
a
u de g ou d
cu e t
of
ai .That
small
clue
led
to
the
discove y
of
Elk
Rive
Cave,
a
vast
subte a ea
system
co cealed
be eath
a
seemi gly
o di a y
paddock.
Nea ly
two
decades
late ,
explo e s
have
mapped
3.13
kilomet es
of
the
cave,
maki g
it
o e
of
Victo ia’s
lo gest.
At
a
depth
of
about
135
met es,
it
is
also
amo g
the
state’s
deepest
k ow
caves,
as
pe
a
epo t
by
ABC
News.A
hidde
wo ld
be eath
the
paddockElk
Rive
lies
ea
the
small
tow
of
Bucha ,
i
Victo ia’s
East
Gippsla d,
o
Gu aiku ai
Cou t y.
The
egio
is
k ow
fo
its
limesto e
fo matio s
a d
exte sive
cave
systems,
ma y
of
which
have
bee
shaped
by
wate
ove
imme se
pe iods
of
time.Be eath
the
g ee
hills,
u de g ou d
wate ways
have
bee
ca vi g
th ough
limesto e
fo
mo e
tha
350
millio
yea s.

F om
the
su face,
howeve ,
the e
was
little
to
suggest
that
a
majo
cave
system
existed
below
the
g assla d.The
locatio
whe e
Va
Dyke
oticed
the
movi g
g ass
was
a
doli e:
a
su ke
a ea
fo med
whe
limesto e
dissolves
u de g ou d
a d
the
su face
g adually
collapses
o
settles.
These
dep essio s
a e
commo
i
ka st
la dscapes,
whe e
wate
moves
th ough
c acks
a d
cavities
i
soluble
ock.The
u expected
moveme t
of
the
g ass
i dicated
that
ai
was
t avelli g
th ough
a
hidde
ope i g.
Afte
diggi g
be eath
the
patch,
the
cave s
fou d
the
e t a ce
to
a
passage
that
would
eve tually
become
k ow
as
Elk
Rive .Fo
the
local
explo atio
team,
the
discove y
was
the
ki d
of
mome t
cave s
d eam
about.
A
small
su face
featu e
had
p ovided
a
clue
to
a
u see
la dscape
below.The
fi st
desce tVa
Dyke
etu ed
to
the
site
with
cavi g
equipme t
a d
fellow
explo e s
E ic
Mu o
a d
Lau ie
B ow .
She
became
the
fi st
pe so
to
e te
the
ewly
u cove ed
passage.The
ea ly
explo atio
evealed
a
flowi g
u de g ou d
st eamway.
The
discove y
was
pa ticula ly
impo ta t
because
esea che s
a d
cave s
had
lo g
suspected
that
a
sig ifica t
u de g ou d
ive
existed
i
the
a ea.
Elk
Rive
helped
solve
some
of
those
ce tu y-old
questio s
about
the
egio ’s
geology
a d
hyd ology.The
passage
was
ot
easy
to
explo e.
Cave s
had
to
egotiate
a ow
sectio s,
mud,
da k ess
a d
cold
wate .
Some
outes
e ded
at
pools
k ow
as
sumps,
whe e
the
cave
passage
co ti ues
u de wate .
Beyo d
these
poi ts,
o di a y
cavi g
equipme t
was
o
lo ge
e ough.
Dive s
would
be
eeded
to
i vestigate
whethe
the
system
co ti ued.The
cave’s
hidde
ive
became
the
focus
of
a
exte ded
explo atio
effo t
i volvi g
membe s
of
the
Victo ia
Limesto e
Cavi g
Team
a d
specialist
cave
dive s.Explo atio
co ti ued
u de wate Fi di g
the
e t a ce
was
o ly
the
begi i g.
Mappi g
the
cave
equi ed
epeated
expeditio s,
tech ical
skill
a d
a
willi g ess
to
e te
e vi o me ts
whe e
eve
small
mistakes
could
have
se ious
co seque ces.Cave
dive s
explo ed
subme ged
sectio s
of
the
st eamway,
pushi g
beyo d
a eas
that
had
stopped
ea lie
teams.
Amo g
those
i volved
i
the
explo atio
we e
expe ie ced
dive s
Ag es
Milowka
a d
Jim
A u dale.
Thei
effo ts
helped
exte d
the
k ow
cave
system
a d
evealed
additio al
sectio s
of
u de g ou d
passage.Ea lie
accou ts
of
the
system
eco ded
mo e
tha
a
kilomet e
of
st eam
passage,
while
late
explo atio
expa ded
k owledge
of
the
cave’s
le gth
a d
depth.
The

cavehas
also
bee
efe ed
to
as
the
Mu i dal
Potholes
Easte
Maste
Cave,
eflecti g
its
co ectio
to
the
wide
etwo k
of
potholes
a d
u de g ou d
wate ways
i
the
a ea.Explo atio
of
this
type
is
slow
a d
methodical.
Teams
must
su vey
each
passage,
eco d
its
di ectio
a d
elevatio ,
docume t
geological
featu es
a d
establish
safe
outes
i
a d
out.
U de wate
sectio s
equi e
additio al
pla i g
because
dive s
must
ma age
ai
supplies,
li es,
visibility,
wate
tempe atu e
a d
the
possibility
of
complex
passageways.The
esult
is
ot
simply
a
adve tu e
sto y.
Eve y
met e
mapped
adds
to
scie tific
k owledge
of
how
wate
has
shaped
the
egio
ove
geological
time.Why
the
discove y
matte sElk
Rive
is
impo ta t
because
it
co ected
a
visible
su face
la dscape
with
a
much
la ge
hidde
system
below
it.
The
u de g ou d
ive
helped
explai
whe e
wate
t avelled
th ough
the
limesto e
a d
how
the
a ea’s
caves
we e
elated
to
o e
a othe ,
as
pe
ABC
News.Caves
ca
p ese ve
clues
about
geological
histo y
that
a e
difficult
to
see
at
the
su face.
Flowi g
wate
c eates
cha els,
chambe s
a d
deposits,
while
cha ges
i
wate
levels
ca
leave
ma ks
o
the
cave
walls.
Sedime t,
ock
fo matio s
a d
the
di ectio
of
u de g ou d
passages
ca
help
esea che s
eco st uct
the
evolutio
of
the
la dscape.The
cave
also
demo st ates
how
much
emai s
u discove ed,
eve
i
places
that
appea
familia .
The
e t a ce
was
hidde
be eath
g ass
i
a
la dscape
that
people
had
walked
th ough
befo e.
Yet
a
majo
cave
system
had
emai ed
co cealed
u de g ou d.That
se se
of
myste y
is
o e
easo
Bucha
has
become
a
sig ifica t
locatio
fo
Aust alia
cave
explo atio .
The
a ea
is
al eady
k ow
fo
its
limesto e
caves,
but
Elk
Rive
showed
that
the
egio
still
held
majo
discove ies.A
da ge ous
a d
dema di g
pu suitCave
explo atio
is
ot
the
same
as
visiti g
a
tou ist
cave.
The e
a e
o
paved
paths,
ha d ails
o
a tificial
lighti g
i side
Elk
Rive .
Explo e s
may
eed
to
c awl
th ough
tight
passages,
wade
th ough
wate
a d
ca y
equipme t
th ough
mud
a d
u eve
te ai .Floodi g
is
a othe
se ious
co ce .
A
u de g ou d
st eam
ca
ise
quickly
afte
heavy
ai ,
cha gi g
a
passage
that
was
p eviously
accessible
i to
a
da ge ous
flow.
This
is
why
expe ie ced
cave s
ca efully
assess
weathe ,
wate
levels
a d
equipme t
befo e
e te i g.The
cave’s
depth
a d
subme ged
sectio s
make
it
pa ticula ly
challe gi g.
At
app oximately
135
met es,
it
is
ot
o ly
lo g
but
ve tically
complex.
The
explo atio
team
has
had
to
combi e
t aditio al
cavi g
tech iques
with
specialist
divi g
skills
to
co ti ue
mappi g
the
system.Fo
those
i volved,
the
difficulty
is
pa t
of
what
makes
the
discove y
mea i gful.
Eve y
ew
chambe
o
passage
ep ese ts
a
place
that
may
eve
have
bee
see
by
a
huma
befo e.A
discove y
that
co ti ues
to
i spi eTwo
decades
afte
the
fi st
e t a ce
was
fou d,
Elk
Rive
emai s
a
wo k
i
p og ess.
Mo e
tha
th ee
kilomet es
have
bee
explo ed,
but
cave
systems
ofte
co tai
passages
that
a e
difficult
to
access
o
sepa ated
by
u de wate
sectio s.The
o igi al
discove y
also
co ti ues
to
captu e
public
imagi atio
because
of
how
o di a y
it
seemed
at
fi st.
The e
was
o
d amatic
collapse
o
obvious
ope i g
i
the
g ou d.
I stead,
o e
cave
oticed
g ass
movi g
i
a
quiet
ese ve.That
detail
captu es
the
spi it
of
explo atio :
majo
discove ies
do
ot
always
begi
with
adva ced
tech ology
o
a
ca efully
pla ed
expeditio .
Sometimes
they
sta t
with
someo e
payi g
atte tio
to
a
u usual
sig
i
the
la dscape.Today,
Elk
Rive
sta ds
as
a
emi de
that
some
of
Victo ia’s
most
ema kable
e vi o me ts
a e
hidde
below
the
su face.
The
cave
was
shaped
by
wate
ove
hu d eds
of
millio s
of
yea s,
but
its
mode
sto y
bega
with
a
patch
of
g ass,
a
cu ious
obse vatio
a d
a
decisio
to
dig.What
lay
be eath
was
ot
me ely
a
small
cavity
i
the
limesto e.
It
was
a
deep,
flowi g
a d
i te co ected
wo ld;
o e
that
has
si ce
become
o e
of
Victo ia’s
most
sig ifica t
cave
discove ies.

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