Mt Surprise - Morning tour to the Undura Lava Tubes
Day 39 - Tuesday 18 June 2013
19.06.2013
We are starting to get used to life without newspapers - nothing since last Thursday. Forecast for today in Mount Surprise is 12 to 29 degrees, although the temperature of 13 at 8:00 am did feel a little cool. The sky was mainly clear and a beautiful day beckoned for our bus tour to the Undara Lava Tubes.
We were on the second tour from the caravan park so we got an extra half hour in bed - before we presented ourselves at the office for a 9:00 am departure. Our tour was to take in the Kalkani Crater with a 2.5 km rim walk, before being taken to walk through three of the Lava Tubes at Undara - the "Archway", the "Ballroom" and the "Wind Tunnel".
One of Bedrock Villages many tour buses
Briefing at the start of the Kalkani Walk
Kalkani Circuit Track - 2.5 kms
Nearby Volcanos from the Rim Track
Wildflowers beside the track
Undara Volcano in the distance
Floor of Kalkani Crater
Greener foliage indicates a collapsed Lava Tube
Smoko at the end of the Kalkani Rim Walk
The lava tubes were formed over 190,000 years ago when the Undara Volcano erupted and spewed an estimated 23 cubic kilometres of lava over a period of 6 to 12 months. The lava flowed down old river beds for more than 90kms to the north and 160 kms to the north-west. The lava tubes were formed when the crust of the flow cooled and solidified, while the hot lava inside continued to flow, leaving a void behind. Many of the tubes have collapsed giving access to some of the tubes that remain in place.
Di at a lava tube entrance
Bush turkey's nest
Entering the Lava Tube
Entering the Archway
Inside the Archway
Coloured walls in the Archway
Looking back through the Archway
Looking down into the Ballroom
Inside the Ballroom
End of the flow
Di at the end of the lava tube
Cane Toads get everywhere!
Bats on the Wind Tunnel ceiling
Walls in the Wind Tunnel
Collapsed lava tube outside the Wind Tunnel
After our tour of the Lava Tubes we were driven back to Bedrock Village in time for lunch. After a sandwich we went for a walk around the sites of Mount Surprise. We started with the Gem Den to check up on our fossicking tour tomorrow morning. We will need to be at the store at 7:45 am to be transported to their claim for the morning dig. We continued on our way around town passing the old Telegraph Office and the Police Station. We finished our walk around town at the Mount Surprise Hotel where we took the opportunity to see whether the beer was cold - it was!
Our camp at Bedrock Village
Old Post Office and Telegraph Office
Beware of the Police Wife?
Mount Surprise Hotel
You could always subscribe to the online Australian if your problems with papers continues.
by Tranmere Duo