Innot Hot Springs to Undara

Lava tube

After an early morning soak in the pools this morning we headed off for the short drive to Undara Experience for our overnight stay and tour of the lava tubes.

Today was also our last day with Stewy, Kristy and Rori. It's a real shame they missed so much of the trip, but glad we still got to spend a few days with them. Had a great time with you guys and hopefully we will see you all again soon.

The lava tubes are located within the Undara Volcanic National Park and were created about 190,000 years ago, when a volcano erupted and sent lava down river beds and the surrounding plains.  As these lava rivers flowed along, their outter shell cooled and hardened, forming an insulating layer.  This then allowed the lava inside the tube to keep flowing through until the tube was drained.  Today there are about 8 of these tunnels that are available for tours to.  These are apparently by far the worlds largest lava tubes.

Micro bats in the caves

We went on a 2 hour guided tour of 3 of these tubes, we had our own private tour, just the guide and us, so we learnt a lot about volcanos, lava tubes and the history of the area.

One of the tubes required us to climb down and into this little hole over rocks and down into the tube, quite an adventure! Gonna be sore tomorrow!!

It's amazing being right inside one of these tubes and seeing exactly how it formed over so many years. Numerous different lava spills over the years make up the different layers we saw. To think that we were standing inside a tunnel that had boiling hot lava spilling through it thousands of years ago was truly amazing.

What makes the tubes so special is that they are still pretty much fully intact this long after the volcanic spills. We did see a few areas where there were once tubes, but they had now collapsed. Does worry you a little when you are standing in the tunnel!!

The hole we climbed through to get into one of the lava tubes

Instead of camping, we decided to stay in one of the old train carriages that have been converted into rooms. They were great, quite a unique experience. The whole resort is great and run excellently. The staff were all great as well, another highly recommended place to visit!