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Published: November 28th 2006
River Cave
What incredible reflections!Now that our report cards are written and marking is pretty much finished, we took one of our last weekends and headed south-west to the best caves in the world.
Our friends Carolyn and Terry organized the entire weekend and it was quite the treat to not worry about planning, driving or navigating! We left school at 3:30 on Friday afternoon and arrived at Caves House just in time for dinner. The only accommodation at the caves is Caves House, and it was terrific. We indulged and booked rooms that had ensuite baths. The hotel is 110 years old and must have been very extravagant in it's time. Today, it shows its history, but is well maintained. The dinner on Friday night was fabulous - a wonderful way to celebrate the end of reports! It's too bad that Tom locked us out of our room on the first night!
The caves at Jenolan are dated at 350+ million years old. It is truly incredible what nature has done in that time. We started our caving with the River Cave on Saturday morning. This cave is the most difficult of all the caves (over 1300 steps) and takes you deep
Caves House
The original hotel, built to house up to 100 guests who came to tour the caves in the early 1900s. into the mountains. We saw some beautiful cave decorations, but the most stunning feature of this cave was the river. It was totally still and looked like glass. Even though it was over 30 metres deep in parts, you could easily see right to the bottom. The lighting in the cave really accentuates the features and at times, the still river could have been a mirror, reflecting everything!
Our second cave was the Temple of Baal. It has recently been re-lit with all LED lights that are hidden. The cave was spectacular with a huge dome and all sorts of cave decorations - stalagmites, stalactites, shawls and even helectites (sideways growths of the crystals). Unfortunately, our guide was very slow and the tour took twice as long as it should have. I think we lost a little of our appreciation for the cave because of the guide!
After a quick late lunch, we ventured into the Lucas cave for a violin/cello concert in the Cathedral. What a beautiful sound! The concert lasted about 50 minutes and then we toured the remainder of the Lucas cave. Another beautifully decorated cave, but still very different from the two before.
The Minaret
An incredible stalagmite formed over millions of years. On Sunday, we toured two more caves - the Ribbon Cave and the Imperial Cave. The Ribbon Cave had a maximum tour size of 6 people, and as we got deeper into the cave, we could see why. It was a very long, narrow passageway with interesting formations on each side and above! We had to go through part of the Orient Cave along the way, and it was absolutely fascinating! The ceiling was a beautifully decorated dome with long straws, stalactites and shawls all over. The Imperial Cave was very different again - not as pretty, but very interesting rock formations and a nice, level walk, for once (my legs were killing me!)
I think the pictures don't do the caves justice... you really don't see the 3-dimensionality of it all. Absolutely incredible!
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lanegra
La Negra
if these pictures don't the caves justice then I may have to look into a journey to the land down under.Love the lizards can't read bit. :)