Moving grass led Australian caver to discover one of Victoria’s longest caves

Representative imageIn 2006, Australian caver Kim Van Dyke noticed something unusual while walking through a reserve near Buchan in Victoria’s East Gippsland. A small patch of grass was moving, even though the surrounding vegetation was completely still and there was no wind.For most people, the movement might have seemed insignificant. For Van Dyke and her husband, John, it suggested something hidden beneath the ground. They began digging and soon discovered rock, and evidence of an underground current of air.That small clue led to the discovery of Elk River Cave, a vast subterranean system concealed beneath a seemingly ordinary paddock. Nearly two decades later, explorers have mapped 3.13 kilometres of the cave, making it one of Victoria’s longest. At a depth of about 135 metres, it is a