After our amazing cruise on Cobbold Gorge we were driven back to the railway line to pick up the train again at Einasleigh, where we had lunch provided by the hotel. We were heading back to Cairns but there was one more overnight stop to make on the way back. It was at The Undara Lava Tubes near Mt Surprise. (Don't ask me why it is called that). This had been on my bucket list for a long time since I read about this strange geological area.
We pulled into the tiny railway station of Mt Surprise. Then we were picked up by a small bus an transported to "The Undara Experience" accommodation. It is unique in that they have reused old railway carriages by making them into motel rooms. It was something different.
There are many tubes in the area but they are all part of the immense Undara lava field. The Undara crater erupted 190,000 years ago sending a molten lava flow that travelled for 160 km and covered an area of 1550 square kilometres. The longest in the world. As the exterior lava hardened it formed tunnels through which molten lava continued to flow and emptied out when the flow stopped, creating the Undara lava tubes. Access is where the ceiling has collapsed in some places.
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| photo taken from 'The DavLin Rig" blog. |
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| Our room has the door open and our friend George is sitting outside his room next door. |
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| They were tiny rooms with an en suite, which still had an original train sink which folds up into the wall. |
Soon it was time for a tour of the lava tubes.
We walked on a board walk into a cavernous hole where the guide explained how the tubes were formed.
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| Photo taken from Paul Ma's blog "Mountains" |
Then we descended into the bowels of the earth in a huge tube of volcanic rock. It wasn't lit up and only the guide had a torch. It was difficult to take photos. You can see tree roots penetrating the tubes. It was Alice in Wonderland stuff.
Looking back to where we had entered you get a better picture of the tube.
There are many tubes in the area but they are all part of the immense Undara lava field. The Undara crater erupted 190,000 years ago sending a molten lava flow that travelled for 160 km and covered an area of 1550 square kilometres. The longest in the world. As the exterior lava hardened it formed tunnels through which molten lava continued to flow and emptied out when the flow stopped, creating the Undara lava tubes. Access is where the ceiling has collapsed in some places.
After viewing these amazing geological structures we returned to the accommodation.
The bar and restaurant were also housed in reused rail carriages. What a fabulous day, Cobbaold Gorge and the Undara Lava Tubes.
