Woke to another fresh morning at dawn – the birds make it impossible to sleep in – and readied ourselves for our Undara ‘experience’. Farewelled Claire who had joined us in Cairns for the trip to the Cape and back. She does not have the luxury of the extended leave the rest of us have.
Made it in time for roll call outside the Undara admin building and were soon in the care of Chris, our guide and bus driver for the day. Two other couples joined Wendy, Glen and myself for the tour – fortunately all wanted to be on the tour and all were up for a day in the bush.
First stop was a walk to the top of a dormant volcano (Kilkani) and a circumnavigation of the rim. This also provided us with a view of the surrounding savannah and gave some perspective to the day ahead. It also gave us a taste of what was to come with scones, jam and cream with tea or coffee for morning tea.
Next we drove to our first ‘lava tube’ – a massive tunnel accessed via a collapsed section of roof and a scramble down a rocky path. Access to a secondary tube was also on offer for those keen on a real scramble over rocks and a climb down through a narrow crevice into another enormous tube.
This initial introduction to lava tubes was followed by lunch back at the Undara Lodge and then, right on time, we attempted to depart, only to wait for Wendy who had returned to the Tvan for a better torch. She became sidetracked when she found our neighbour had checked out leaving some excellent firewood behind. Not one to miss the opportunity, the firewood was relocated to our fireplace.
The afternoon included a procession of different lava tubes – some very long and with diminishing oxygen at their extremities, some forming magnificent arches and others partially flooded with crystal clear chilly water that the brave among us navigated in bare feet with shorts rolled up as high as they would go!
The afternoon concluded with muffins and tea or coffee at the replica settlers’ hut set on the banks of a dry creek. A great day was had by all visiting these most unique creations of nature.
Much information was also exchanged regarding our future travels west – a lot of advice on places to see and visit, as well as road conditions ahead took place during the day; together with tales from the Cape. It’s always interesting that so many common points of interest can be found with complete strangers when travelling around.