Willi Willi Caves facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Willi Willi Caves |
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Location | Willi Willi, New South Wales, Australia |
Geology | Limestone |
Managing authorities |
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The Willi Willi Caves Nature Reserve is a special protected area in New South Wales, Australia. It covers about 8 hectares (which is like 16 football fields!). This reserve is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. You can find it on the lower part of a ridge near the Macleay River, about 35 kilometers west of the town of Kempsey.
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Discover the Willi Willi Caves!
The Willi Willi Caves Nature Reserve helps protect a unique type of land called a limestone karst system. A karst system is an area where soft rocks like limestone have been dissolved by water over many years. This process creates amazing caves, sinkholes, and underground rivers.
What Makes These Caves Special?
The Australian Speleological Federation (ASF) is a group that studies caves. In 1985, they listed about 37 different entrances to caves within this reserve! That's a lot of hidden tunnels and rooms to explore.
Home to Amazing Bats
One of the most important caves in the reserve is the Willi Willi Bat Cave. This cave is mostly one very large room with several smaller tunnels branching off from it. It's super important because it's used as a maternity cave. This means it's a safe place where common bent-wing bat mothers give birth and raise their young.
Protecting This Special Place
The Willi Willi Caves Nature Reserve is managed by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service. Their job is to make sure this unique cave system and its animal inhabitants, like the bent-wing bats, are kept safe and healthy for the future.