Bendethera Cave - With Kids

On Wednesday we decided to make the trek into Bendethera Cave.  The limestone hills in Deua National Park have many caves, however Bendethera Cave is the largest, and access is unrestricted. 

The walk from the carpark is about 4 kilometres, along Con Creek.  For the first couple of kilometres, we crossed the creek about half a dozen times – at delightful little crossings.  The little people were in their element, happily chattering away as we walked along the old firetrail.

Don't fall in brother!

The boys were kitted out with their little bum bags, containing water bottle, space blanket, whistle, compression bandage, camera and a zip lock back containing almonds, macadamia nuts and some dates.  They love their little packs, that give them a feeling of security on their walk, although the youngest has no hips and therefore has to readjust his bag constantly.  

It might be overkill, but we also carried additional water and our PLB in our backpack, just in case.  The last thing you would want to happen is for a snake bite at the end of the walk, with no prospect of a quick rescue.  And the snakes were about!

Sunning on a rock - we waited until Mrs Black moved on.

The sign at the carpark recommended 2.5hours return, however we estimated it would take us about four hours all up - and it did.  It took us the best part of two hours to get to the cave, with the last 350 metres of the walk being a rather steep climb.

Looking back down the valley on the climb.  Bendethera Wattle can be seen on the right.

We had a short rest at the cave entrance, and a bite to eat before venturing in.

At the entrance to the cave.

The cave experience was a little overwhelming for the little helper.  It was a bit too dark and rough for him, so we had a short explore of the first and second chamber before calling it a day.  The coolness of the cave was a welcome relief from the heat outside, however it wasn’t long before we declared our caving experience over, and commenced our return to the carpark - arriving almost exactly four hours after we set off.

In the cave... dark and scary for little people

Our rule of thumb for walks with the boys for distance is their age in kilometres.  The five year old did really well to make the eight kilometre walk – although I believe Jo used a similar technique to the George Family to encourage our boys on their trek.

The George Family lived in the valley during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  In order to get their turkeys to market, a trail of corn would be laid for the turkeys to follow for the sixty kilometre walk to Moruya.

Jo had a small stash of Smarties, and the boys were promised a Smarty for each significant milestone on the journey.  One smarty each was promised to provide ‘energy’ for the climb to the cave.  Another was promised on the return.  It was a case of a short walk, followed by a Smarty all the way home.  I'm not suggesting our boys are turkeys... but sometimes the right motivation will work wonders.

On the walk back to the valley - little bush walkers with their walking sticks!

In all it was a wonderful walk.  The little people managed it really well, giving us confidence to attempt more walks of similar length (Pigeon House Mountain perhaps?).  A refreshing swim in the river when we got back was the perfect end to a great day on the trail.  

The perfect swimming river