Where do your single friends sneak away to be, well, um, intimate with each other when they should be watching every single minute of your expensive hotel wedding reception?
A survey has revealed that the elevator is the most common initial hook-up spot for singles during a hotel-based wedding.
In second comes the relative seclusion of the conference room, followed by late-night favourite the pool.
About three quarters of single respondents to travel-dating site MissTravel.com’s poll said they had hooked up somewhere besides the hotel room.
Sixty-seven per cent admitted to getting together even before the cake was cut, presumably when it is done at the end of the evening.
“Attending a wedding alone means two things for singles: open bar and an all day reminder that you’re still single," says Brandon Wade of MissTravel.com.
“But many seize this opportunity to find a new connection, with a like-minded single who is more receptive to finding a new love interest, even if just for the night."
One in three said they have taken the hook-up through to its ultimate conclusion.
Want to see more stories from Australian Traveller in your Google search results?
Mythical, historical and most of all, spectacularly beautiful, Buchan Caves demands you take your time – and a tour.
In the pools of water, so still they could be mirrors, the reflections of the stalactites make these limestone towers seem even taller. Almost 400 million years ago, an underground river carved through the rock to create the Buchan Caves. Now, artworks created by dripping water adorn these subterranean galleries: stalactites hanging from the ceiling, pillars connecting some to the ground, even curtain-like wave formations clinging to the stone.
Visit the caves for the day or stay onsite in the campground or at the self-contained Caves House. (Image: Ben Savage)
“This is called the Fairy Cave because it’s full of fairy dust,” a guide tells visitors as they enter a cavern glittering with “calcite that’s solidified into thousands of tiny little diamond shapes”. Buchan Caves is Victoria’s largest cave system, but Fairy Cave is a highlight and, along with nearby Royal Cave, is accessible only by tour. Naturally cold, naturally dark, these caverns deep below the surface light up as the local experts tell their stories.
You’ll need to book a guided tour to see the caves. (Image: Tourism Australia)
Among the hundreds of caves, some can be easily accessed from the surface. For instance, a casual stroll along the FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk, as kangaroos watch on from beneath acacia trees, leads into the 400-metre-long Federal Cave and its natural steps of white limestone. A slightly longer track, the Granite Pools Walk heads through soaring forest down into moss-covered gullies where the calls of lyrebirds trill through the leaves.
A quick history lesson on Buchan Caves
Buchan Caves are a must-visit attraction in Gippsland. (Image: Tourism Australia)
Among the geology and the nature are millennia of history. This part of East Gippsland connects the high country to the coast and was long a place of refuge for the local Gunaikurnai people on seasonal migrations to the mountains. Archaeological studies show humans lived here up to 18,000 years ago, with artefacts such as small stone tools found around the site. But not too far into the caverns – oh no! The Gunaikurnai didn’t dare venture deep into the dark at Buchan Caves, telling stories they were inhabited by gnome-like nyols (small grey-skinned creatures that could steal memories).
The Buchan Caves Hotel was rebuilt after burning down in 2014. (Image: Jess Shapiro)
By the early 1900s, more people had started to hear about these incredible caves and so the Moon family set up home at the site and started to run tours below ground for intrepid visitors. More than a century later, their historic residence is available as accommodation, with the three-bedroom house sleeping up to eight people and now equipped with modern amenities the Moons could only have dreamt of.
But whether you stay overnight or just spend the day here, it’s worth taking your time to explore more than just the main caves, to get a deeper understanding of one of Victoria’s fascinating geological attractions.
