Hidden Earth 2025

Tasmania: Exploration Efforts in Australia's Deepest Cave System

30 minute Lecture|Ben Honan

Abstract

The temperate rainforests of Australia's smallest state host caves of staggeringly different personalities. The north of the state has some of the most decorated caves in the world, filled with speleothems the size of aeroplanes, and pristine expanses of glittering gour pools. The majority of the exploration potential, however, lies in the southwest, beneath the 500-hectare Junee-Florentine (JF) karst system. Beneath lies Niggly cave: the deepest (and arguably muddiest) cave system in Australia. Historically, exploration has proven difficult primarily due to the vast boulder choke separating Niggly from the hypothesised master cave system. However, recent digging efforts have led to one of the most exciting discoveries in the last twenty years of Australian cave exploration. Join me to find out what the Southern Tasmanian Caverneers found in the summer of 2025.