Main blurb:
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Welcome to Victoria's Premier Caving Area
From Melbourne, Buchan is an easy 4.5 hour drive east through Traralgon, Sale, and Bairnsdale. From Bairnsdale it is sign posted the whole way. All the roads are sealed. My only advice is that once you turn off the main highway, slow down a bit as kangaroos and wombats often appear on the roads.
Not a huge town, until you see beneath it!
There is a roadhouse, general store, the pub, and some touristy shops but that’s about it. There is a mechanic in Buchan although you'd be lucky to see him on the weekend. The local footy team are called 'The Cave Men' – it’s good that they have a sense of humour.
Buchan is without doubt the most significant caving area in Victoria. Buchan itself has caves in the township (in the camping reserve - the show caves as well as a number of gated wild caves) but this is the tip of the iceberg. Buchan is surrounded by pockets of limestone, so when we say Buchan we are actually refer to a number of areas, most notably Murrindal, East Buchan, New Guinea Ridge, The Basin, Gillingall and several other small ones with only small or small numbers of caves, not visited often.
The gorgeous green panorama of the Buchan Valley, through which the Buchan river runs. A stones throw from fishing on the Snowy, to surfing at Lakes Entrance, or to a quiet walk to a beautiful waterfall. Plenty to do when your not caving, or if caving isn't your thing!
Old, Hard, Solid Limestone.
Buchan's popularity perhaps comes from the fact that it has the oldest limestone in Victoria, and also the deepest, so the caves are deeper and well decorated. There is nothing long or deep by international standards but in terms of decoration many of the caves are world-class. I spent 2 years caving in the United Kingdom, in systems over 300m deep and 50kms long, and never saw the quality of decoration that some Buchan caves have. Chambers such as Christmas Hall in Scrubby Creek, and The Vaults in Trog Dip are just mind blowing, you won't believe the beauty - shimmering pristine crystal coating everything!
The history page will say more, but Buchan has been explored since the early 1900s, but amazingly new caves are still found regularly - especially by the Victorian Limestone Caving Team who have the advantage of having 2 members that live in Buchan, who know every single nook and cranny in the whole place - amazing amount of local knowledge and access to much of the stuff on private property.
Homeleigh - The heart and soul of Buchan's Cavers
Buchan is also made convenient by the existence of the caving lodge "Homeleigh" which is very comfortable and cheap to stay at. Homeligh was the original Buchan pub but was purchased 40 odd years ago by a co-operative named Rimstone which was mainly made up of cavers. Over the years it has slowly been renovated and is now looking more and more like a hotel. It sleeps over 60 people at full capacity, has 2 kitchens, a toilet block with great hot showers, 4 fridges, and pillows are supplied. The guest rate is $25 per night, but if you join the Rimstone Co-Operative the cost is reduced to $12.50 a night. Note: To stay at Homeleigh there needs to be a Rimstone member present. See the links page for Rimstone's address. It is very comfortable and great value for money!
The Buchan Pub in the background, with the public toilets and BBQ in the forground accross the road. The Pub does an EXCELLENT pub meal, has a large range of beverages, and has a large table for big groups of hungry thirsty cavers. An excellent way to wind up a solid day of caving. Picture courtest of Parks Victoria.
The Buchan Campground - Amazing
The camping ground in Buchan is absolutely gorgeous! You will see kangaroos, emus and heaps of other wildlife, and the 3 tourist caves are on your doorstep. There are several good walks too, including one to a majestic waterfall. There is a camp kitchen and BBQ facilities, plus the kiosk to buy tickets. Also, in Buchan there are several other accommodation options including some log cabins that are nice. But most cavers stay at Homeleigh. Homeleigh is also where the 'intentions board' is, which is where all cavers must register where they are going and what time they will be back by. This is very important, even if you have other people around that know where you are.
Buchan and surrounds probably has 1000 or more tagged 'karst features' most of which are not caves or at least not significant caves, but I would estimate there would be 100 or so caves worth looking at in Buchan and surrounds. As stated in the 'Access' menu, private property has been a problem in the past, so this limits how many caves you can actually do.
Buchan as a beginning point in your caving career
In some ways Buchan is seen as a training area for more serious (longer, deeper, wetter, more technical) caves, which is really talking about the caves in the southern part of Tasmania (Junee Florentine, which reaches nearly 400m depth), or overseas. New Zealand has caves reaching nearly 1000m in depth, and Europe has even deeper caves including the deepest at 2.3kms (approx) deep.
The Buchan caves give you all the training you need in lots of small caves, which you then use in serious caves elsewhere. I did hear that Buchan is one of the world's largest collections of 'micro-karst' features, although I can't confirm this.
I’m not saying that Buchan and Victoria in general don’t have challenging caving - there are PLENTY of challenging features that will get your heart beating, but they aren't deep or long in an international context. The Buchan caves are no more than 120 or so metres deep (this may change with new exploration) and no longer than about 4kms.
See the 'Top Ten Caves' in the 'Caves in Victoria' Menu
If you want to come to Buchan from interstate feel free to email VSA or even email myself and we will try and arrange a guide. Usually someone will be happy to come to Buchan and either come caving or at least take visitors to the entrances and provide a survey or description.
The nice thing about having lots of smallish caves is that navigation is rarely an issue. But - there are enough free access caves to do to fill an entire week, as long as you are SRT proficient (quite a few of the good caves need some SRT).
I would invite you to come down to Victoria and have a look - from Canberra it is only 6.5 hours down the Monaro Highway or a day’s drive from Sydney or Adelaide. We really do have caves that compete with areas like Jenolan and Bungonia. And remember that we also have other caving areas including lava tubes. Setting up a trip with a guide from VSA also means we could apply for a permit for you, to see some of the rarer caves.
Anyway, this should give you a guide to what’s on offer in Buchan.
So, you want to cut to the chase and find out which are the best in the Buchan (and surrounding limestone areas in East Gippsland). Well here it goes, but remember it is my opinion only. I have not included the show cave system which would probably be first, but that is strictly no access. Number one is the best, in descending order.
10) Lilly Pilly Cave - Lilly Pilly is in parts like ‘mini-Tasmania’ quality decoration and large passage and chambers. Really spectacular. It is a show cave which is used every now and again, so permits aren’t as hard to get, if staying to the path. Very pretty.
9) Moon’s Cave - Moons Cave is gated and on the Caves Reserve, and permits are given mainly to cavers with a good purpose for access. A platypus lives in the cave which they don't like to bother so this sometimes stops trips. The system has an inflow and stream.
8) NG1 – New Guinea Ridge Cave – An excellent long and deep horizontal cave. NG1 is totally closed (the road is closed off) in the cooler months due to the extreme nature of the road down to the area. When it becomes wet the greasy limestone just doesn't grip even on the most hardy of 4wd's, even with chains on, and countless cavers have gotten stuck down there. Summer months only, in a proper 4WD. Another nearby cave NG5 almost made the list, doing both is an awesome duo. Often cavers bush camp down there.
7) Duke’s Cave – The cave on the Caves Reserve that feeds the swimming pool. This is a long active stream cave, and you are in the water a lot of the time. Cold and wet. Some terrific decoration and excellent character to the place. Permits can be hard to get as the cave is on the reserve and very visible.
6) Shades of Death – Owned by the Rimstone Cooperative. First couple of hundred metres is show cave, then to a long well decorated horizontal system. One of the longest caves in Buchan. Trips are only for surveying and science at the moment, with VSA. Some water in wet weather.
5) Trog Dip – Another long stream cave, which gets wetter as you go further. The best part of the cave is protected by a sump that is closed quite often. Past the sump some unbelievable decoration and stomping passage. The cave is on a river reserve, so public access, but to get to it most people choose to cross private property with permission of the landowner. It is possible to get there by walking through a forest and then up the river, but it takes hours.
4) Exponential Pot – On the potholes reserve, but gated. Thought of as the best decorated cave in Buchan. A 25m entrance pitch down to a very complex and beautiful horizontal system. Only trips are for surveying and science. An experienced leader is needed as a condition of permit.
3) Elk River via Baby Berger – Also on the potholes, and public access, although route finding to get all the way to the stream at the bottom can be slightly tricky, so a guide is recommended although not essential. Only a short part of the stream can be visited without SCUBA gear, in cramped sumps, but still a great trip.
2) Scrubby Creek – In Murrindal, also owned by Rimstone. An excellent long active stream cave with big chamber and good decoration. Protected by a roof sniff that can sometimes be very difficult, and a leader system is in place. The roof sniff was recently lowered which has made access a bit easier. Regular trips take place with VSA.
1) Dalley’s Sinkhole – On the property owned by the local Quarry, and no access currently. A terrific cave more at home in England or Tasmania than Buchan.
So these, in my opinion only, are the best 10 Caves in the Buchan and surrounds. There is more information on all of these caves in the ‘Caves in Victoria’ section of this website.
If you have any access queries in regards to the caves with gates on them, please direct them to Parks Victoria. Also see the Interim Access Guide File in the 'Access' menu on this site. If you want more general information on access to these caves, you can email me at admin@under-victoria.com.au.
Enjoy!
Caves in the Parks Victoria Caves Reserve (And camp ground)
These caves are on the Parks Victoria Buchan Caves Reserve, which very near the middle of Buchan township (the turn off into the reserve is on the left as you drive through), and the caves (both the show caves and some wild caves) are a kilometre or so up the road. This is where the three Buchan show caves are – Federal Cave, Royal Cave and Fairy Cave.
Federal Cave
Federal Cave is not always open but there are tours in Fairy and Royal Caves daily. See https://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/buchan-at-cave-reserve for more information. The friends of Buchan Caves group are constantly working on Federal cave, which is open to the public on holiday periods and special days.
Getting access to the gated permit caves on the reserve:
All of the significant wild caves on the Caves Reserve are gated. This includes Moon's Cave was off-limits fairly recently due to a platypus in residence. To enter any of these caves you need several things:
All team members need to have some experience, and absolute beginners generally not allowed. All members need to be aware of and have read the relevant ASF documents especially on minimal impact caving.
The trip should have a purpose other than just recreational caving. Checking for damage, surveying, and photography are better reasons, and a trip report should always be written with the results, and forwarded to Parks Victoria ASAP for their records. Its fine to enjoy your caving, but Parks simply want cavers to help take care of the caves too, and carrying out a task while you are underground is a small price to pay.
The application needs to come from the secretary of the ASF member caving club you belong to, on official club letterhead.
If you are an interstate club, a local guide is highly desirable. You'll need someone to at least show you where the cave is.
You are much more likely to be granted a permit in the off-season (Winter) and also make Parks aware that you will be as discreet as possible when getting ready / finishing up. Duke’s is totally off-limits in Summer as it feeds the swimming pool which gets muddy if cavers enter the cave. In Winter the pool is kept empty and just needs to be cleaned after the trip. Permits are never granted for any caves on the reserve on or directly around holidays.
If you don't have a local guide, then research the cave. Obtain a survey and a description of the route from a local. A character reference from a local caver might help. The VSA has surveys and information on every major cave in Buchan, but it is not dispersed freely to non-members.
Bring some WD40 - These locks don't open frequently and sometimes need some coaxing.
Having said that, none of the caves that you can get permits to on Caves Reserve are massively complex. Moon has a fair bit to it, but the navigation in the others is relatively simple.
The reserve is also the camp ground for Buchan. It is a beautiful space with amazing flora and fauna including numerous kangaroos and other wildlife. It is really one of the most pretty camp grounds I have ever seen. There are also several spectacular walks that can be done, which is a nice break in between a big weekend of caving.
The Show Cave System - Royal, Fairy, Dukes, Federal
The show cave system is made up of Royal, Fairy, Federal and outflow through Duke’s Caves. It is somewhere between three and five kilometres in length, although I have been unable to find an exact figure. A through trip through the system is possible, first achieved in 1976, by bailing out a sump, but permits for that are not given often – in nearly 20 years of caving in Buchan i’ve never known of one being granted.
Royal and Fairy are fantastic show caves. Whilst there are few large chambers, the decoration is world class. In wet conditions the caves are reasonably damp with nice rimstone pools and active fresh decoration abundant.
The gated caves in the reserve are all very old and some of the first ever explored in Buchan, and for a long time had no gates, so as such they are all in pretty average condition. Still - it is worth protecting them, if nothing else then to stop them from getting any worse.
Descriptions of the main significant caves on the reserve:
Spring Creek (B-1)
Spring Creek is an ex show cave. It is horizontal apart from one five metre pitch which needs a ladder (or a gnarly free climb – not recommended). The whole cave can be seen without doing the pitch by doubling back, but the nicest way is to rig the pitch first from the other side and then do the entire cave as a circuit. It is an extremely easy cave, suitable for beginners. There is a fair bit of exploring potential in side passages and leads, and to do the entire cave will take you about four hours. Like all the caves on the reserve it is gated and needs a permit for access. Access is not tight though as the cave has been used extensively and there is little pristine cave left. There is extensive graffiti in the cave including signatures that claim to be from the early 1900s. RATING: 2
Duke's Cave (B-4)
Duke's is the stream outflow of the show cave system. As you drive into the reserve you will see a swimming pool on the left side of the road. Look at the right rear side and you'll see the cave entrance with the stream coming out into the pool. Yes – The cave water is what you're swimming in. Cool huh? This is a prime reason why permits for the cave are only granted in the low season. When Victoria was in serious drought they diverted the water from the cave outflow and the town drank cave water for a couple of years.
This is an excellent stream cave. Extensive decoration and stomping stream passage, with lots of water. There is nothing technical apart from one or two greasy climbs, but no gear is needed, beyond a wetsuit or some way of keeping warm. Buchan cave water is not cold in comparison to Tasmania, but Duke’s has sections of full immersion so warmth is a consideration. It is a Buchan classic and should be high on your list. VSA have visited Duke’s regularly over the last few years. A great cave.
RATING 2
Whale Cave (B-20)
Whale Cave is a reasonably straight forward horizontal system with a short ladder pitch of about 10 metres at the entrance. There is also a pitch down a confined tube which takes you to the very bottom of the cave, which when I was there had a short section of stream visible through a squeeze that was not passable. Whale has not got much by way of decoration but is interesting with lots of scope for exploration. Permits are given fairly easily to Whale Cave.
RATING 2.5
Moon’s Cave (B-2)
Moon’s has an obvious gated horizontal entrance on a hill. This leads to a stream passage. This system includes an inflow in wet weather at B32 and a through trip is possible, but has not been done in years. A platypus lives in the Moon’s system and this stopped the last trip I attempted into the cave, although I believe access is still possible. It is a good and straight forward cave but well used, like the other caves on the reserve.
RATING: 2
There are a number of other named caves on the reserve, and they include Green Cave, Root Cave, Coles Cave, Potluck Cave, Children’s Cave (open access), B22, Blue Grotto Cave, and Bone Cave. I don’t think there is much to these, and I haven’t done any of them.
All of these caves are well used as they were the first found and closest to the township, which is indicated by some wear and tare. But they all have merit and are worthwhile, especially Duke’s which is a great cave for those who like water.