Go with the flow

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This was published 18 years ago

Go with the flow

By Bruce Elder
Undara Volcanic Volcanic Park. Queensland

Undara Volcanic Volcanic Park. Queensland

There's more to this wide brown land than the rock and the reef, writes Bruce Elder.

When it comes to world-class natural wonders, Australia really does have more than its fair share.

Did you know that we have the world's largest sand island? The world's biggest rock monolith? The world's largest coral reef? And the world's longest lava tube?

These are natural wonders of such power and unique beauty that they deserve to attract visitors by the millions. Of course, some do. The Great Barrier Reef is still the nation's premier tourist attraction with more than 60 per cent of overseas tourists admitting that their primary Australian destination is Queensland. Similarly, Fraser Island, that huge sand island off the coast of Hervey Bay, certainly has plenty of tourist appeal.

But what about Mount Augustus in Western Australia, which is 2 1/2 times the size of Uluru and rises to 858 metres above the surrounding plains?

Does anyone go there? Does anyone even know of its existence?

When it comes to world-class natural wonders, Australia really does have more than its fair share.

And what about the Undara lava tubes - one of the wonders of Australia and reputedly the largest lava tubes in the world? They are not only worth visiting, but the experience - carefully controlled by the people in charge of the destination - is one which effortlessly mixes a touch of outback Australia with a healthy dose of geology, a dash of bushwalking, some unique and historic sleeping accommodation and some decidedly Aussie tucker.

How good can outback living get? Accom-modation at the Undara lava tubes is either camping or a railway carriage. There is something totally charming about having an old, turn-of-the-century Queensland Railways carriage to yourself. The original fittings are still intact. The balcony for a quiet cuppa is the platform at the back of the carriage. The bathroom is a modified version of the old railway bathroom and the bed is large and comfortable. The carriages have been turned into very comfortable motel-style accommodation with just the right level of preservation.

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And when it comes to eating, Undara offers a genuine outback experience. The evening meal typically comprises huge steaks, fish from the Gulf of Carpentaria, sausages from Georgetown and kangaroo. Breakfast is cooked over an open fire with that delicious tang of eucalypts from the burning logs, tea boiled in a billy, and seating arranged so that everyone sits around the fire and swaps yarns - if you're up to that in the early morning. Visitors have been known to declare that the bacon is the best they've ever eaten. But then few of us eat bacon cooked, and smoked, over an open fire.

Located in bushland 275 kilometres south-west of Cairns via Atherton, the Undara lava tubes can be inspected only by taking conducted tours which are organised by ecotourism operator Undara Experience. The tour offers an insight into the flora and fauna of the Australian tropics, as well as allowing visitors to enter a number of the giant caves which are the most accessible entry points to the lava tubes.

Geologists estimate that the Undara lava tubes are 190,000 years old. The lava flow that formed them covered 1550 square kilometres of north Queensland. At the time the whole region was alive with volcanoes. Eruptions from them produced the Atherton Tableland. The volcanoes were responsible for the rich, deep soils which make the whole area so agriculturally productive.

The Undara lava tubes were formed when 23 cubic kilometres of lava (think of that for a minute and you'll appreciate just how much lava that was) from one of the many volcanoes spilled out over the land and travelled along a river bed. Geologists believe that the entire length of 160 kilometres is the longest lava flow from any single volcano on earth. It is estimated that the whole process took between two and three weeks with the lava flowing at a rate of about 500 metres per hour. Parts of the lava flow, notably a section known as the Wall, which is near the township of Mt Surprise, are said to look like the lunar ridges on the moon.

There are two specific branches which form the Undara lava tubes - one runs for 16 kilometres and the other for possibly as much as 28 kilometres. Over time the tubes have collapsed at various points, leaving huge dents in the landscape which can be seen from the air. Looking like dark depressions because they have become heavily vegetated, they are best seen from the helicopter flights which leave the lodge on demand.

At various points these depressions have formed caves. These are where the tour guides enter the tubes. The caves are vast, with maximum widths of 21.2 metres and heights of up to 10 metres. They are never dark because they have gaping holes at the surface and, unlike limestone caves, they are nothing more than huge caverns. They tend to be relatively straight and only terminate where the roof has caved in. The Undara tubes are open to the public, but they can be explored only by joining one of the organised tours which leaves from the lodge.

The half-day tour travels through the bush past the One Hundred Mile Swamp until it reaches a rocky outcrop. Visitors climb to the top of the outcrop where they can see the stump remnants of the volcanoes that produced the lava flows. The guide gives a detailed description of how the lava tubes were formed and points out the main features of the area. There are also warnings about snakes (they don't emphasise this but they insist everyone wears enclosed footwear and it is known that the region is the habitat for, among others, the taipan, northern death adder, king brown and a range of pythons and tree snakes) in the area and interesting comments about both the flora and fauna.

The tour then moves on to the first of the lava caves. It is an easy walk to the base of the cave and, once again, the guide explains the fauna of the cave as well as the geological features. This is a relaxed tour and there are good tea breaks in the savanna bushland.

After tea another lava cave is explored. In the late afternoon the animals come out and it is common to see kangaroos grazing beside the road and rock wallabies sitting quietly in the bush at the entrance to the caves. The half-day tour takes visitors into three sections of the lava tube. The full-day tour enters five sections. The tubes themselves are vast and access is remarkably easy. It is never anything more than a walk down a stable scree slope into the tube.

The area around the tubes is typical scrubby savanna bush country with pandanus, ironbarks, white-barked gums and cabbage gums mixed with remnant rainforest - known as semi-evergreen vine thicket - which occurs in the mouths of the caves. Not surprisingly the caves are home to a wide variety of Australian wildlife. There are spiders and colonies of the eastern horseshoe bat. The guides, from an organisation known as Savannah Guides, are highly qualified and their talks are informative and interesting.

It is essential to book a trip before travelling to the lava tubes. It is common to see people who have speculatively driven 275 kilometres from Cairns being turned away because a tour is full.

Some visitors prefer to do their own exploring. At Undara this is only possible in a limited sense. There are nine walking tracks around the lodge ranging from 1.5 kilometres to 12 kilometres. They are difficult in summer because of the heat and they are mostly about walking from one lookout to the next and enjoying the views over the lava plains. There is a walk to the top of Kalkani crater and one around the edges of the One Hundred Mile Swamp - which, not surprisingly, is not very swampy in the dry season.

A bus carrying 20 people is better than dozens of four-wheel-drive vehicles damaging this delicate ecosystem. The logic of organised tours, and the Undara experience, is a model of ecotourism.

What are lava tubes?

When a volcano erupts it often disgorges vast rivers of lava which flow across the land. If that lava happens to flow into river valleys, rather than slowly melting into solid rock, it can flow like some vast, slow river of molten rock. The best way to think of this is to imagine a lava flow solidifying on the outside (which would form the tube), while the inside is still molten and keeps flowing.

Trip notes

There are a number of tours available through Undara Experience (www.undara.com.au). The core tours are the 3 1/2-hour and an eight-hour tour (with lunch, morning and afternoon tea). Both visit a number of the breaks (or caves) and allow participants to climb down into the tubes.

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