Mammoth Caves,Margaret River Region

 On the same day too we visited the Mammoth Caves 

in the Margaret River Region

 as the name suggests, it is MAMMOTH!!!

 We enter the cave through bushland via a gently sloping boardwalk

(words from the brochure)

 streams flowing through the cave stained with natural tannins

 Over 100000 fossils had at one time accumulated inside the cave, upon excavating many of these were found to be remains of giant animals that became extinct.

This is a 50,000 year old jawbone embedded in the cave wall.

 Beautiful stalactites

 weird formations over the years

 and stalagmites

 so awesome

 looks dangerous too!

 a really cavernous cave!!

There are many other caves but we only had time to see one.

Margaret River is home to over 100 caves!

芦笛岩 Reed Flute Cave Guilin (Ludi Yan)

The Reed Flute Cave (Chinese: 芦笛岩; pinyin: Lúdí Yán) is a landmark and tourist attraction in Guilin, Guangxi, China.^[1] It is a natural limestone cave with multicolored lighting and has been one of Guilin’s most interesting attractions for over 1200 years. It is over 180 million years old. The cave got its name from the type of reed growing outside, which can be made into melodious flutes. Reed Flute Cave is filled with a large number of stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations in weird and wonderful shapes. Inside, there are more than 70 inscriptions written in ink, which can be dated back as far as 792 AD in the Tang Dynasty. These aged inscriptions tell us that it has been an attraction in Guilin since ancient times.It was rediscovered in the 1940s by a group of refugees fleeing the Japanese troops. Nowadays, multicolored lightning artificially illuminates the cave.

(from Wikipedia)

Kim Fong, our taxi driver drove us to Reed Flute Cave

Entrance to the Reed Flute Cave

"The cave got its name from the verdant reeds growing outside, which can be made into melodious flutes."

Reed Flute Cave (芦笛岩)
Location	Guilin, China
Length	240m
Discovery	792 AD
Entrances	3

The Reed Flute Cave is a natural cave carved out of the karst limestone mountains over millions of years, and has been one of Guilin’s most famous attractions for over 1200 years.  Inside this water-eroded cave is a spectacular world of various stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars and rock formations created by carbonate deposition and illuminated by multi-colored lighting to create a surreal experience.

240-meter-long cave is lined with interesting rock shapes and formations resembling all kinds of strange things. Many of the formations have taken on recognizable shapes of mythological creatures, or natural images. There are formations that look like vegetables and one even looks like the Statue of Liberty.

from http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/06/reed-flute-cave-in-guilin-china.html

This website has the best images I have seen for the Reed Flute Cave. They are so clear and are located at the best spots in the cave......(.comment from a reader.)

Now to join the queue to go in...

only 40 or more pax are allowed in at any one time

to avoid jostling and maybe getting lost?

Suddenly a guide appeared and started talking like a robot in Mandarin.

She is to bring us in the cave and give a commentary on all the cave formations

IN A DEAD PAN EXPRESSIONLESS FACE!!!!!

Lake inside the cave, with artificial lighting

The guide flicks on a switch which illuminates the cave and 

bathes it in multi hues as she explains the origins

and will swtich off when she walks off!

Then we have to troop and follow after her!

Cave without the coloured lights, but illuminated by the camera flash!

Spectacular rocks up to the ceiling!

Lots of formation: snowman, Kwan Yin, Mother and Baby 

etc, etc...even mythological figures like Monkey God ....

everyone ooh-ing and aah-ing over the cave formations

This will give you a perspective of how gigantic 

and cavernous the interior is

Finally, please look at the awesome stalactites and 

stalagmites and that is the Goddess of Mercy perched on a 

side rock.