Welcome to Cave Beach, Jervis Bay.
This Earthcache will have you visit and enter a sea cave along the beautiful Cave Beach.
Location and Access
Cave Beach is located on the Southern side of Booderee National Park. The National Park is managed jointly by Parks Australia and Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community.
As of January 2025, a $20 day pass is needed to access the National Park for vehicles, but it is free for walkers / cyclists.
Cave Beach is known to have great surf with a big swell, attracting many surfers. Additionally there is a campgrounds nearby with facilities such as fresh water, public toilets, cold-water showers, a sheltered gas barbecue area and wood barbecues.
It is also a fantastic spot to camp to see native Australian wildlife. Many kangaroos can be spotted in the campgrounds during the day. Beware, I have seen red belly black snakes both times I have visited this beach!
Earthcache Lesson – Sea Caves
Sea Caves (or Littoral Caves) can be found along the coast and are primarily formed from erosion due to wave action. The continual attack of waves chips away at bedrock of cliffs, eroding it away over time. Caves form when the erosive power of waves meet an area of weakness in the cliff. These weak areas are often faults or fractures formed from slippage, or where dissimilar types of rocks are interbedded and one is weaker than the other.
Given the weakness, these waves can erode the rock faster in this contained area. The rock is eroded at the base of a cliff at the level of the water, which frequently forms a narrow crack first. Over time waves can enter the crack, and the weight of the water, force of the waves and compression of trapped air erode the cliff from within forming a cave. As the width of the base grows larger, rock above can fall, giving the cave greater height.
In most cases, sea caves are wide, tall, but not very deep. This is because the cave can only really erode as far as the water can reach. However in some cases, the cave will bore completely through the cliff and form an arch. This is most common when waves erode both sides of a cliff, or where the cliff is situated within the water, rather than along a beach.
Formation of Littoral Caves
Logging Requirements
In order to log this cache, you must submit answers to the CO via the message center. The purpose of the logging tasks is to demonstrate what you have learnt from the Earthcache lesson.
NOTE: There are two caves here at Cave Beach. All of the questions below are to do with the larger cave at the posted coordinates. Feel free to visit the other nearby 'diagonal' cave!
1. Take a photo [REQUIRED] in the entrance to the main Sea Cave at the posted coordinates like the image below. You can either show yourself, or an item that identifies you as a Geocacher (Username, GPS, Badge)
2. Describe how the sea cave was formed. Outline observations of the cave (such as height, location, width) and try to explain these phenomena. In you answer, make sure to comment on the direction of the waves and how they travel to the cave.
3. Enter the cave to estimate the depth of the cave, and predict whether the cave will become much deeper over time, or even form an arch.
This geocache was part of GC Project: It's Raining Caches 2025.
The project's aim was to create a rain of new geocaches to fall from the sky across the state of NSW at 9am on 19th January 2025 - 1 week before Sydney Geoquest, the first Block Party in the Southern Hemisphere.
Many legendary hiders came together to generously contribute their finest geocaches to build excitement and connection amongst the community and for all finders to enjoy years after the event.
This geocache helped make it rain.
