My Lone Visit to the Lava Tubes of Undara

After a 5 hour bus ride, I arrived in Undara. I am not sure how much of the catastrophes over here have made it your way. There is the fires burning in Victoria, where many have been killed or lost homes. In Queensland, where I am, there were cyclones and excessive rains last week, leading to flooding of homes, and several streets north of Undara are still impassable. (This is a cool side note, they are doing a lot to raise money for those affected by the fires, and I heard on the news that many who were affected by the floods are committing their insurance checks to the fire victims; amazing how people can see through their own adversity to the people who have lost even more.)

So, I tell you all this to set the stage. This is the slow (i.e.. Wet) season anyway, but with the roads to the north being closed, I am literally the only person in this place. I ate my meals in this big outdoor dining area by myself. I did get VERY personalized service.

The site is surrounded by a national park and mega-ranches (think Texas). In a addition to my two planned tours, there were several hikes to choose from, a pool for relaxing, and the constant accompaniment of numerous birds. Besides the birds, they have the prerequisite kangaroos and wallabies, as well as my first view of wallaroos (they are all marsupials; kangaroos are the larger species, wallabies are the smaller species, and wallaroos are in the middle, this the name.

I went hiking after lunch yesterday. I got caught in the rain (which I was prepared for...I've learned to always be prepared for rain). On the way back, I turned a corner and there were about a corner dozen kangaroos, most of them taking shelter from the rain under a pavilion, not more than 25 feet from where I was standing. They ran off soon after they saw me, but I appreciated them pointing out the shelter to me. I sat out the rest of the rain in the shelter (joined by a kookaburra that sat just above the next picnic table) and soon the rain stopped (it typically does not last long). So I walked along the the tent/camping paths and ran into tons more kangaroos and wallabies. I was able to get as close as a single lane road without them running away, although they never took their eyes off me.

We (the guide and me) went out 4WD'ing instead of hiking tonight because of the flooding and rain. I saw a wallaroo for the first time - kangaroos are the big ones, wallabies the little ones, and wallaroos are in the middle, thus the name. These are the first wallaroos I have seen. Their ears are more rounded and their face more like a dog. The kangaroos and wallabies look more like deer (I wonder if they have similar genes and just developed differently).

We also visited a bat cave. Not THE bat cave, but one filled with hundreds of bats. We got there in time to watch their nightly exit (luckily I had a hat on). We also saw a few become dinner for the snakes that work their way over to the cave for an easy meal. But dumb as they are, one snake would catch a bat, then one or two others would fight him over the bat instead of getting their own. And their version of fighting is to grab a hold of the bat and/or other snake and hold on for dear life...so no one wins. I also got to see my first iguana (about 4 feet long!) green tree frogs, and cane toads (Mary Lang, are you jealous).

I had crocodile for dinner. I had narrowed it down to that or Emu, since I had not tried either yet). The crocodile was ok, I'd eat it again if someone served it to me, but I don't think I would choose to order it again...kangaroo is better. I don't know how to describe it, except maybe a cross between shark steak and chicken (though I can't really say it tastes like either).

This morning we (again, the guide and me) went on a half day tour, so that I could catch the bus back to Cairns. First we visited the rim of a volcano that last erupted thousands of years ago. From the top you could see quite a distance. Although the land is mostly flat, there are around 160 extinct volcanoes in the area that are just suddenly there (the last volcano erupted over 40,000 years ago, so there was no risk to me in that front. Supposedly, this land was once a mountain range the size of the Andes, but erosion and time have mad it pretty flat. Many of the volcanoes were eruptions that went straight up with a bang (think Hollywood movie volcanoes) and tended to make tall, thin mountains. The other kind oozed lava for years and created fat mountains and the lava tubes this area is known for. Undara was thus kind of volcano. It oozed lava for 20-30 years. The top layer would harden, but the lava underneath continued to flow downhill, leaving lava "caves", or as they call them, tubes, behind.

Next we visited three different lava tubes. They can be VERY long, and boardwalks have been built to make it easy to walk through. Unfortunately, those who built the boardwalks did not plan for the amount of rain they have seen here - this is set up to be a record rainfall year. So the caves were all flooded (only the 3rd time this has occurred), so I could only walk part way through (darn...my slightly claustrophobic side was not terribly upset).

Okay, I will admit to having medium expectations for Undara. Instead, it became my favorite place in Australia so far. The other SC group and how much they would have enjoyed it - this was the kind of experience I was expecting in Brisbane. I wish I could have had more time here for exploring. The staff were extremely knowledgeable and accommodating, the food was fantastic (I think I gained weight again, although I did turn down the pavlova), and I got to sleep in a converted train car (it was really cute).

Okay, I've rambled way to long.

Interesting fact day 22-23: Within 6 weeks of a kangaroo's pregnancy, she can choose to hold off the remaining gestation period for up to 2 years. Kangaroos will do this if they think there will not be enough food for the baby. A bonus (but sad) additional fact, a mother kangaroo will abandon a baby if she thinks there is not enough food for both her and the baby.