The Caves

The Caves locality is situated approximately one kilometre northeast of Eagle’s Nest along the Cape Paterson/Inverloch road and approximately 5.6 kilometres south-west of Inverloch. This area offers wide, rocky, shore platforms with many small inter-tidal pools full of marine life. It is a favourite with fishermen, surfers and palaeontologists. Great care should be taken to not walk too close to the cliff faces in this area, as they are very unstable and large amounts of rock have fallen in the past. A short walk down a well-made path and across a sturdy bridge, courtesy of Parks Victoria, leads to the beach and rocky outcrops. The first fossil bones from this area were found in 1988 on the shore platform close to the cliff to the right of the beach access. However, it was the discovery of more bones during a Parks Victoria public outing in January 1991 that led to the ultimate discovery of the richest fossil locality in Victoria, a few hundred metres north of The Caves. In 2008 Parks Victoria erected a number of information panels along the access route to the beach, highlighting the research carried out in the area over the last twenty years. This allows visitors to learn about the exciting fossil discoveries even when the annual dig is not taking place.