Cape Leeuwin and Mammoth Cave

On our way to the southwest tip of Australia, we stopped at Conspicuous Cliff along the Southern Ocean. More sea views and some interesting vegetation--and some kind of chicken that must have escaped a nearby farm!

Then we headed to Cape Leeuwin and the lighthouse there. Cape Leeuwin is where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet each other. There were many people there with binoculars because June begins the whale-watching season. We did not see any, but June has just begun!

An interesting sidebar: there is a very Dutch influence here because so many Dutch Royal Navy ships sailed to and from Australia. Cape Leeuwin, for example, was discovered by the crew of the Dutch ship Leeuwin in 1622, whose captain named it "The Land of Leeuwin." In 1627, it was named Cape Leeuwin.

And, of course, the touristy thing to do is to have your photo taken where the two oceans meet (this is the closest we could get).

We stayed that night in Karridale Cottage; no television or phone reception, so a quiet evening of reading was had by all--all the small towns close down (except bars and some restaurants) at 5:00, so unless you want to spend your evening at the local tavern, you go "home."

This cottage was one of four on 47 acres of land. We heard possums on the roof at night and were advised to keep the doors closed because a possum had gotten in to one of the cottages sometime previously, and it was "not pretty." The cottage was really lovely, and we wished we could have stayed longer and explored more of the property. We did enjoy playing with the owners' puppy, Doug, though.

By the way, possums in Australia are not at all like the opossums in the States. These are actually cute (not my picture, by the way):

The next day we headed to Mammoth Cave, which was discovered in 1850 but not explored until 1895. Tours were led by the first explorer, using only candlelight and kerosene lamps until 1904, when electric lighting was installed. Ours was a self-guided tour, using MP3 players to give us various facts about the cave. Los of stairs to climb, including 160 at the end. My knees did surprisingly well!

Stalactites grow from the top of the cave and stalagmites from the bottom. Both are formed by dripping water. When the two join in the middle, they form columns.

Entrance to the cave:

Here are various stalactites and stalagmites--our favorite is the elephant trunk:

After that, we headed back to Perth. It was a great trip in our little Toyota Corolla Ascent. We logged over 2000 kilometers (about 1400 miles) in the 12 days that we had the car.

And now we're just about finished with this vacation. I think Beth and Dan are ready to have their apartment back (and begin planning for their move to The Netherlands in September), and we're gearing up to head back home. We had hoped to visit Rottnest Island, but rain is predicted for our last days here, so that probably won't happen. All in all, though, we have seen so much and have gained a new appreciation for this fabulous country.

Stay tuned!