Wombeyan Caves
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 29 January 2006 11:52:59
From Goulburn I headed off, in my automatic -- I will not be ashamed I cannot drive a manual Mimi, Miss Lisa and Deeleea! ;-) -- to Wombeyan Caves. Wow. And Wow again. I can't wait to get back there. I loved it. I was talking about it to a fellow parishioner Saturday (who went camping for a few days last week), and he's interested as well.
Driving from Goulburn to the caves was wonderful: I love driving on the open road and it was wonderful to see the countryside. Also interesting, and I wish I had've stopped and taken photos, were the various small churches, often stone or timber, that appear a few kilometres before you enter a town. They are in the middle of nowhere: small, quaint churches. And I see them so often on travels in regional New South Wales. Fascinating.
As I approached the caves, the road became dirt and gravel and continued thus for several kilometres. My car handled it alright, but it would've been nice to have a 4WD. Little did I know I'd be wishing for one on the way back as well. Reaching the caves area was beautiful: the small road, twisting and turning, opened up to a camping and picnic area, and the ticket office and kiosk area.
My photos can't do justice to the beauty of the caves. And Wombeyan Caves were nowhere near as busy or commercial as those at Jenolan (which I've visited several times). There are many interesting bushwalks to waterfalls and rivers and lakes which I'm looking forward to doing when I return. Though I think I'll wait for cooler weather: it was a warm and humid 30ºC and a half-hour bushwalk was plenty for me that day.
I first took a self-guided tour of the Fig Tree Cave, which has various sensors that turn on lights and a commentary as you walk past. Very nice. I then did the bushwalk, passing various people and having a talk to a couple from Canberra who told me of all the wonderful walks you could do: they had spent the week there.
I then went on a guided tour of the Wollondilly Cave. There were a number of ship-style ladders to navigate, mainly backwards, which was actually good fun. There were a few times I wished I were 50cm or so shorter, as there were a number of places one needed to duck while walking. And it was amazing how cool and pleasant it was down there. And when we exited, an-hour-and-a-half later, my glasses instantly fogged up as we exited back to the heat and humidity.
I find caves fascinating. Much like the depths of the sea, they are a completely different world with their own habitat. The beauty of God's creation and its constant evolution is an amazing thing. How caves form and how they change I find very interesting. The caves at Wombeyan are made of marble, which our guide said would go to our tombstones is we were crushed! ;-) I found that fascinating: but apparently marble is limestone that has been super-heated and squeezed -- I never knew that.
As well as the natural formations, there is also the impact humanity has had on the caves. Especially in terms of blowing holes and making passages so that we could take the tour. It's a blessing that we can see these underground worlds, but a lot of damage was done in the process. But I am thankful we are able to see this beauty of God's creation.
On the way back I decided to go via Mittagong, which meant travelling many, many kilometres along a gravel, dirt and rocky road: constant signs warning of falling rocks and the fact the road was very narrow and there were no barriers around corners, the other side of which was a sheer fall of hundreds of metres, had me slightly worried, by my little car managed to survive. I think a 4WD is the best form of transport for that route.
All in all, a wondrous short get-a-way. Great fun. I can't wait to go again, and I'll have to visit Abercrombie and Borenore Caves one day too.