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Nestled successful the bosom of Queensland’s rugged outback lies a hidden wonderment that you wouldn’t expect to find successful Australia – the Undara Lava Tubes.
Formed thousands of years agone by a colossal volcanic eruption, these past tubes lurk underground, weaving beneath the earth’s surface, and portion Australia is not known for volcanic history, it’s astounding that it has 1 of the world’s largest underground cave tunnels formed by lava.
Visiting the Undara Lava Tubes successful Outback Queensland was 1 of the much absorbing places we’ve explored connected our travel astir Australia.
I didn’t cognize overmuch astir Australia’s volcanic past before, but present I’m wiser. I was fascinated and impressed with this off-the-beaten-path acquisition successful in Tropical North Queensland, and conscionable had to stock my tips for visiting it.
Here’s what to spot and bash there, however to get there, and tips for visiting Undara Lava Tubes!
About Undara Lava Tubes
The Undara Lava Tube System successful Tropical North Queensland are a fascinating geological enactment resulting from a bid of volcanic eruptions that occurred astir 190,000 years ago.
As molten lava flowed from the monolithic Undara volcano, it created an extended web of lava caves, which are considered to beryllium 1 of the world’s longest cave systems.
The tubes were formed erstwhile the outer furniture of lava cooled and solidified, portion the molten lava continued to travel beneath, yet draining distant and leaving down hollow tunnels.
The caves prevarication wrong a nationalist park, which tin lone beryllium accessed by guided tour. The parkland is not lone worthy visiting for the caves, but the surrounding scenery features a affluent diverseness of flora and fauna, with the tubes serving arsenic a unsocial situation for assorted species, including micro bats that roost wrong the cool, acheronian environments of Barkers Cave.
To larn much astir the geography of the area, you tin besides instrumentality bush walks done the portion to spot the remains of the volcano and locomotion astir Kalkani Crater rim, which uniquely acts arsenic a earthy upwind passageway and is inactive shaping the situation astir it.
How to Get to Undara Lava Tubes
Undara Lava Tubes is portion of the Undara Lava National Park, which is location to 164 volcanoes, cones and vents. They are nestled astir a 4 hr thrust on the Savannah Way, westbound of Cairns.
To scope the Undara Lava Tubes, you volition request to thrust since the determination is remote. The nearest large airdrome is Cairns Airport (CNS), located astir 280 kilometres to the northeast. (see rental cars present if needed)
From Cairns, you tin instrumentality the National Route 1 for 239 km, past crook onto Undara Rd in Mount Surprise.
From Mount Surprise, travel the Undara Lava Tubes Road for astir 30 kilometers, which volition pb you straight to the entranceway of the park.
If you privation to interruption up the journey, I urge a pit store successful Atherton to respect the Atherton Tablelands and halt disconnected astatine the galore lookouts.
The thrust to Undara offers beauteous views of the Australian landscape, truthful beryllium definite to halt disconnected and instrumentality photographs and not unreserved the journey.
The Undara Lava Tubes Experience
The Undara Experience is designed and produced by the Collins family, the earliest achromatic settlers successful this locality whose cattle grazed successful the country since 1862.
The Collins household projected the Undara Volcanic National Park beryllium created astir the caves connected their spot and they would let entree via tours from the lodges that would beryllium managed by the family.
They wanted visitors to larn however this past onshore was formed by earthy forces implicit hundreds of millions of years and sphere its rugged beauty.
As mentioned earlier, the parkland is not conscionable astir the caves, there’s a batch of wildlife and geography to explore, and the Undara Lava Tubes Experience offers the champion of each that.
Here are our highlights of the Undara Lava Tubes Experience.
The Archway Explorer Lava Tubes Tour
A ribbon of greenish emerges from the crushed beneath – strangler fig, pandanus palms and ferns supply a fertile rainforest situation successful the mediate of the adust savannah scenery and a marker for the people of the lava tubes.
It’s a fascinating exploration of the clip volcanoes lorded implicit the scenery successful Far North Queensland.
You archetypal decent a bid of stairs, and past locomotion on the boardwalks into the caves below.
I loved walking done the conduit sections and caves learning astir however they were formed – and your kids volition emotion wearing their caput torches arsenic you marque your mode done the darkness.
You tin spot up adjacent however the lava tubes were formed erstwhile ample lava flows ran done valleys. We learned however erstwhile the extracurricular of the lava crust cooled it created a passageway for the remainder of the lava to travel through.
Over clip immoderate of the extortion sections person collapsed, revealing the tubes and creating caves and unfastened spaces that proceed to enactment a rainforest habitat.
It’s a genuinely beauteous to spot the patterns and ledges formed by the cooling lava dribbling down from the ceiling and whirl pooling successful sections wherever much than 1 conduit met.
A wildlife sunset tour
As mentioned earlier, the parkland is not conscionable celebrated for the caves, it’s besides an country of outstanding quality and wildlife.
Dusk is simply a large clip for wildlife viewing. The wildlife astatine sunset circuit features sightings of galore kangaroo and wallaby species, with acknowledgment to the cognition of our usher I learned a batch astir macropods that I ne'er knew. Including the connection macropod.
They are each the antithetic benignant of kangaroos, wallaroos, and wallabies – and determination is truthful many!
Some different Australian wildlife you mightiness brushwood successful the parkland are pythons and brownish histrion snakes, bats, owls, arsenic good arsenic your accustomed Aussie insects.
To decorativeness disconnected the experience, bask a solid of champagne paired with food and crackers arsenic the prima sets and past locomotion to the entranceway of a lava conduit cave to ticker for the emergence of thousands of tiny microbats from the tube.
It was a beauteous chill tract to spot particularly conscionable inches implicit our heads. The girls thought it was beauteous cool. Others not truthful much!
Enjoy a bush breaky surrounded by wildlife
You don’t conscionable person to sojourn for a day, you tin besides campy successful the park. When staying astatine the onsite campground, bush meal is served each greeting astatine the Ringers Camp.
Who doesn’t emotion a bully bush breaky with your billy beverage oregon freshly brewed coffee, toast cooked implicit the occurrence – a favourite enactment with our kids – and blistery meal of bacon, sausages and eggs to commencement your day?
Enjoy the aboriginal greeting aerial and being surrounded by bouncing kangaroos, wandering cattle and swooping ravens, kookaburras and kites (watch for the nutrient swiping!).
kiteBe entertained astir the campfire astatine night
Every evening at 8pm, a campfire is lit and 1 of the Savannah guides leads an enactment similar trivia, bush yarns, oregon people songs.
For the archetypal nighttime we experienced a small spot of poesy speechmaking and the 2nd evening the usher shared with america absorbing facts astir immoderate Australian wildlife, the moon, and drinking wine.
At archetypal I thought it was going to beryllium boring, but the usher was really rather hilarious. It was truthful entertaining we stayed the full hr alternatively of sneaking disconnected aft 10 minutes.
Bike oregon locomotion the galore trails
There are plentifulness of walking trails surrounding the Undara Resort, respective of which spell to lookout points.
They were a small excessively agelong for america to locomotion truthful we took our bikes for a thrust beside the swamp, which was bare of water.
We cycled retired to the Heritage Hut utilized during the days, but the scenery didn’t alteration overmuch truthful wasn’t peculiarly thrilling successful presumption of show seeing but worthy it to get retired connected the motorcycle and conscionable thrust done the outback.
Sleep successful a railway carriage
There is the accidental to slumber successful beautifully restored railway carriages, which of people our kids were thrilled about.
The carriages are acceptable on the archetypal Cobb & Co manager road nether the shadiness of gangly trees surrounded by Australian Native wildlife.
There isn’t a batch of abstraction successful the carriage truthful permission your apparel successful your car. It’s a unsocial acquisition and 1 to bash if you emotion trains, and was bully to get retired of our camper trailer for the night..
You tin besides campy with your ain caravans astatine the Undara edifice oregon enactment successful cabins oregon safari tents.
Walk astir the rim of Kalkani Crater
About a 13 kilometre thrust from Undara Lava tubes is Kalkani Crater.
There’s a spot of an uphill ascent to get to the acme of the crater, but past it’s an casual 2km locomotion astir the rim and a large position of the volcano dotted scenery disconnected successful the distance.
The lone disappointment was the deficiency of signage to constituent retired Undara Volcano, I would person loved to person seen it. Make definite you look beneath to spot the curving escaped ribbon indicating the lava tubes.
Tips for Visiting Undara Lava Tubes
- The Undara Experience is beauteous astonishing and unique, but it tin beryllium a small costly erstwhile you adhd up the tours. So beryllium selective which tours and activities you bash according to your budget.
- Definitely the Archway Explorer Tour was a highlight, and astatine 2 hours successful duration it wasn’t excessively agelong to support our 2 kids (6 and 2 yrs astatine the time) entertained.
- Try to instrumentality your ain nutrient arsenic the edifice prices are rather high, though we highly urge you devour determination 1 nighttime arsenic the nutrient was good, and the mounting incredible! We stayed successful the railway carriages and did not person immoderate cooking facilities, truthful wore the outgo of the dinner.
- If your fund allows, perfectly urge trying retired the bush meal experience!
- Our guides were knowledgeable, affable and helpful. BUT, we did find the reception staff successful the bureau rather rude, and I don’t mean connected 1 juncture but consistently rude, truthful I deliberation they request to enactment connected the lawsuit work connected that broadside of things.
More Outback Queensland Travel Tips
Need much inspiration for your travel to Outback Queensland? Here are immoderate different adjuvant guides…
- Why Outback Queensland is an enriching roadworthy travel destination for families
- 2 week Outback Queensland roadworthy travel itinerary
- Tips for an Outback Queensland Road Trip with Kids
- 50 Stunning and adventurous things to bash successful Queensland
- 15 Best Road trips successful Australia
- Unique Things to bash successful Longreach, Queensland
- Contemplating the Cosmos astatine Charleville
- Places to sojourn successful Queensland
- Guide to driving the Savannah Way
- Why Winton is our favourite outback town
- Is Boodjamulla National Park Queensland’s champion kept secret?
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