Day 17

17 February 2013

Last night and this morning was freezing, apparently got to 9 degrees overnight here! Where is summer, I am not done with you yet!

Off to Jenolan Caves this morning, it is about 28kms from Oberon and a fairly easy drive. There is a steep section down into the caves entrances which runs for about 5km and is very narrow road, luckily for us there is two entrances to the caves and we seemed to be the only ones using this road!

It is quite an interesting looking place and you can actually stay here in the accommodation. They also have concerts and a restaurant if you are looking for something different. There are 12 different cave tours to choose from all ranging in price from $30-$40. They run at certain times of the day so check this before you go if you want to look at a certain cave. We didn't really mind which one, the next one leaving was booked out, so we decided on Temple of Baal which is described on the website as

"The Temple of Baal Cave is renowned for its beauty and spectacular features. Although this cave is often used as a wedding venue, it is not a ‘temple’. Rather, the unusual name was inspired by limestone formations which reminded early cave explorers of the Biblical story of ‘Elijah and the Prophets of Baal’.

Visitors enter the Temple of Baal Cave via the ‘Binoomea Cut’ a long manmade tunnel. Then, they travel down the ‘Dragon’s Throat’, via a dramatic winding staircase. There are 2 massive chambers, one 42 metres high and filled with beautiful formations. One of these formations, the 9 metre tall ‘Angel's Wing’ shawl, is one of the largest cave shawls in the world. The cave also offers beautiful examples of crystal helictites.

This cave tour includes evocative light and sound, taking you back in time, to the creation and discovery of the cave."

We headed to our entry point and waited for our guide. I was saying to Joel how cool of a job it would be to show people through caves like this everyday and how there are not many jobs women normally do that aren't sitting on their ass so would be cool job. He thought the guide would be a man, but it was actually a nice young girl so there is hope for me yet!

The tour starts in a tunnel that leads to the cave, they then turn lights on slowly to show you different features of the cave. Well this is probably where my explanation ends, I am not sure I can describe what we saw in the cave.... Amazing, crazy, unbelievable to think this is a natural occurrence, silence was had all through the cave when each section was shown to the group, I think this is because no one knew what to say, what do you say, it's nothing like you have ever seen before! I tried to take many pictures, most of which didn't turn out as I made the mistake of taking the little camera and not my big one into the cave. With the lighting it was really hard to get a good shot and almost impossible to get a shot with a person in it! It was either just a shadow of your face or your face was ghost white from the flash and nothing could be seen in the background!

These photos give you a tiny idea of what you will see but seriously get here and see it, it is a must see on everyones bucket list, maybe even on your 30 before 30 list stace?

Included in your tour price is a free self guided tour through another cave called Nettle's Cave and Devil's Coachhouse. They give you a audio unit that tells you different things about the cave as you walk through. Of course it wasn't as spectacular as the paid caves but just different as this cave is exposed to the open air all the time so the cave is dull would be the only way I could describe it.

 

There is also a 1.5km river walk you can do and bistro for lunch. Little tip for the budget conscious, take your lunch and snacks as there are areas everywhere to eat and this will save you some dollars. This is pretty much a whole day event if you want it to be, lots of things to do and look at.

Your cave tour ticket also allows you to get 50% off another tour for 12 months after your first visit so if you know someone that has just been you could get it half price. (anyone want to go let me know)

If you want to spend the money you can actually abseil some of the caves as well!

Overall pretty cool place.

Bateman's Bay tomorrow.

Carly & Joel

 

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