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Waterfalls on the Jenolan River
The Jenolan Caves area is as interesting above-ground as it is below.
I lived within easy reach of Australia’s Blue Mountains for many years, and while I’d take visitors up there regularly for day-trips and hikes, I guess I rather took them for granted. I knew some of the stories of the hardships the early explorers (Blaxland, Wentworth, Lawson, and their unnamed servants) faced trying to find a path through the rugged terrain that seems to extend forever (1813), but the current road is a vast improvement over the one forged a year later (1814) by William Cox.
What I didn’t realise was that the Greater Blue Mountains Area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage area of Outstanding Universal Value in 2000 for (among other things) “its exceptional expression of the structural and ecological diversity of the eucalypts associated with its wide range of habitats.” The post-Gondwana isolation of the Australian continent has lead to a unique diversification of plant life.
Just west of the Blue Mountains – but still within the Greater Blue Mountains UNESCO Area, there is a honeycomb of limestone caves considered by many to be one of the world’s most spectacular cave formations. Created about 340 million years ago, the complex is certainly the oldest known and dated open cave system in the world. The network of caverns, set aside as the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve, is still being explored, with more than 40 kilometres (25 mi) of multi-level passages identified.
For thousands of years, the waters in some of the caves were used by local indigenous peoples for their healing powers. The first Europeans known to visit and explore the caves were brothers Charles and James Whalan around 1838, and visitors have toured the caves from the 1840s. Today, eleven of the cave systems are open to the public, under the guidance and management of the Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust and the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service.
I first visited Jenolan Caves back in the early 1980s. Last year, while my husband and I were making plans for a road-trip up-country, Jenolan Caves House advertised some special over-night deals.
The opportunity to go back was too good to pass up!
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Jenolan Cave House
Built in 1896, Jenolan Caves House was added to the NSW State Heritage Register in 2004. The rooms have been renovated to include en-suites and modern bedding, but otherwise are little changed from earlier days. Dinner in Chisolm’s Restaurant – in what used to be the Grand Dining Room – overlooking the blue-green mountainside, is a real treat.
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Pink-Purple Wildflowers
De Burgh’s Bridge
Entry to the Grand Arch and Caves House is over an old stone bridge, called Limestone Bridge or De Burgh’s Bridge, built in 1895.
Cave Guide
The light disappears under the Grand Arch where we meet our Cave Guide. She had led the Imperial Cave Tour many times before, and was extremely knowledgable. But, she was as excited as if it was her first time and her enthusiasm was infectious.
Entrance to the Imperial Cave
The easiest cave for visitors because it has the fewest steps, Imperial Cave was first seen by Europeans in 1879.
Jenolan’s Underground River
Down a long spiral staircase in Imperial Cave, we come to an underground river so clear that we can see the limestone-coated rocks on the bottom.
Ceiling in the Imperial
The Imperial Cave tour spends about an hour wandering through the 1070 metres of tunnels and caverns.
Stalactites, Stalagmites, and Columns
The Imperial Cave features the usual beautiful speleothems (crystallised structures made from mineral deposits); …
Waves of Crystal
… these deposits are built on a basis of limestone embedded with ancient marine fossils. More recently, bones of a Tasmanian devil – long extinct on the Australian mainland – and a wallaby have also been found.
Delicate Stalactites
The speleothems are still growing – albeit ever so slowly.
Curtains and Shawls
Rain on De Burgh’s Bridge
When we came out of the Imperial Cave, the rains had set in.
Rain on Cave House
We called it a day, made a dash for Caves House, and dressed for dinner.
Purple Wildflowers
Caves House
The next day dawned bright and clear. We walked up the hill to the Binoomea Cut, …
Guide at the Binoomea Cut
… the man-made tunnel entrance leading into the Temple of Baal Cave.
Crystal Stalactites
The two large chambers that make up the Temple of Baal Cave are known for their beauty.
Angel’s Wing in the Temple of Baal
The 9-metre formation known as the Angel’s Wing is one of the largest cave shawls in the world.
Delicate Flowstones
The Temple of Baal was named by early cave explorers after the biblical story of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal.
The Light Behind
Curtains in the Temple of Baal
Rivers of Crystal in the Temple of Baal
Jenolan River Walk
We had just enough time after our cave tour to complete the Jenolan River Walk – a 3 km trip, out and back.
Water Dragon
Plenty of little water dragons …
Skink on the Path
… and skinks were out enjoying the beautiful sunny day.
Tree Fern on Blue Lake
The Jenolan River Walk starts out alongside the beautiful aqua-marine Blue Lake.
Wier on Blue Lake
Blue Lake is man-made; the water from the weir, built in 1908, generated electricity to light the caves and Cave House.
Rock Orchid – Dendrobium Speciosum
Waterfall on the Jenolan River
Leaves in the Light
Maidenhair Fern – Adiantum Aethiopicum
I’m always amazed when plants I used to coax along in my apartment thrive in the wild!
Red Belly Black Snake – Pseudechis Porphyriacus
In the undergrowth below us – well out of harm’s way – a red-bellied black snake suns itself.
Suspension Bridge
The path, while short, has plenty of interest and variety.
Blueberry Flax-Lilies – Dianella Revoluta
Waterfalls on the Jenolan River
The track ends at a picnic area next to the old Jenolan Caves Hydro Electric plant, and some very pretty waterfalls.
Back at Blue Lake
We retrace our steps …
Crimson Rosella – Platycercus Elegans
… and share our lunch at the coffee-shop with a cheeky rosella before driving back over De Burgh’s Bridge towards home. (iPhone6)
We could have easily spent a lot more time there – there were many more caves we could have explored, and more walks we could have taken…
I hope it’s not another thirty years before I get back!
Until next time…
Pictures: 20-21November2016
It was a lovely caving experience
It was indeed! 😀
I love your post, especially the images. I always love cave images that contain people, to show the scale of the caverns. Kacy and Stu will be very pleased to see the nice pics of themselves!
So pleased you enjoyed the post, Carolyn. We sure enjoyed our weekend. ?
Lovely post.No wonder this is a UNESCO site.Amazing patterns and I like the bridges too.
Thanks so much, Sidran! I’m so glad to have your visit. ?
I really enjoyed that Ursula, I wasn’t able to go on any cave tours but your Photos almost made it seem like I had. We spent part of our honeymoon at Jenolan and 35 years later took our kids, their partners and our granddaughters back to enjoy it all again.
Hi Tricia,
I’m glad you enjoyed the blog – and your stay at Caves House. It really is a special place, isn’t it?
It might be a big country, but it is a Small World!! Fancy running into you and your family in the Blue Mountains! Always good to see you.:D