Stephen Fordyce

Compiling survey data from a push dive and comparing it to the 3D model on the phone. - with Stephen Fordyce and Ryan Kaczkowski at Cocklebiddy Cave

Arguably the Nullarbor Plain's most famous cave, Cocklebiddy Cave was the site of the world's longest cave diving penetration in 1983.

Cocklebiddy Cave is one of many hundreds of caves that dot the Nullarbor "karst" - the largest arid area of limestone in the world. The entrance to Cocklebiddy Cave is an example of a collapsed "doline' - a sinkhole created when the cave roof collapsed to reveal a system of massive underground caverns and more than 6km of underwater passages.

Cocklebiddy has been the object of numerous cave diving expeditions over the years. Since the 1960s Australian and international teams have gradually pushed further into the cave, setting new world records for cave diving distances. Although the world record set at Cocklebiddy Cave in 1983 (6250 metres) has since been broken, expeditions to map and photograph the cave continue to offer opportunities for better understanding and protection of this fragile karst environment and the unique animals that dwell in the Nullarbor caves.

In the picture Stephen and Ryan check the data on the Android during their stay at Toad Hall (red dot in the map).

Photo by Liz Rogers

Map adapted from the survey by Tim Payne et al.