Caves to Caves - Part I - Wombeyan Caves

With foreboding skies, and a forecast for showers and rain, we thought we would make the most of a rare opportunity for leave and school holidays and make tracks north. Over the next week or so our plan was to head to Dubbo and the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, via the Wombeyan Caves, Yerranderie and Kanangra Walls.

The plan was to live in the camper for the best part of two weeks – the best we had managed thus far was a three day run. We relocated the awnings and spare canvas to the roof of the car, and put six wardrobe draws into the under-bed storage of the camper. This way we all had one draw each for clothes, one was for spare medical supplies and the other was extra food. The fridge and freezer were stocked, bikes loaded and car checked. It seemed we were ready.

We managed to get away in good time on Saturday and arrived in Goulburn for lunch. Belmore Park is a favourite haunt of our kids with its fantastic kids playground, however on this occasion we were surprised by a collection of fire trucks and ambulances of all shapes and sizes. It wasn't an incident at the Francis Greenway designed courthouse, but rather an Emergency Services Open Day. Joy of joys, the Little Helpers nearly wet themselves with excitement at being invited into the back of an ambulance. The Little Fisherman was able to correctly identify the breathing apparatus in the back of a pumper - but the RFS trucks were his favourite as they could go off-road! Ah, he must be my son.

The Taralga Fire Truck - Dennis

Finally we dragged the tykes away, only to be hauled off the road again at Taralga. The Taralga fire shed was also hosting an open day, however the star attraction was an ancient Dennis Fire Truck. The boys were excited, but were muscled out of the driver's seat by their mother! An unusual turn of events for sure.

Our Campsite - Wombeyan Caves

Eventually we were able to complete the descent into the Wombeyan Valley, set up camp and relax in only the way that camping can bring. Free from the worries and distractions of home, we were able to really enjoy our time in the evening gathering wood for a camp-fire and once the kids were finally in bed, Jo and I were able to talk and enjoy each others company without the necessity of paying some bills online, or fold up the washing, or the myriad of other things that seem to make our modern lives so hectic.

The misty drizzle settled into rain overnight, and dawn revealed a wet and soggy scene. Thankfully Matilda kept us warm and dry overnight. After a delicious porridge (cooked overnight in the thermal cooker) and a second breakfast of bacon and eggs, we trundled down to the kiosk to book a tour of the Wollondilly Cave.

The Wombeyan Explorer Pass ($75 for a family pass) entitled us to enter the two guided caves that were open (Wollondilly and Junction), and also the self guided cave (Fig Tree).

The boys examine the "Beehive"

We all thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the Wollondilly Cave. The steep ladders and steps were a little daunting at the start for Mr Four and a Half, but with a little bit of encouragement and careful staging of Mummy or Daddy, he quickly got in the swing of things and thoroughly enjoyed himself. Mr Six was in his element. This was his second cave experience (after Yarrangobilly) and hence he was an expert in all things caves... thankfully our guide Jeff (himself a parent of four kids) encouraged his imagination pointing out poodles, turtle heads and elephant heads in the delightful formations found in the cave.

A relaxing afternoon and we decided to explore the self guided Fig Tree Cave. Not sure what to expect, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Wombeyan Creek flows down into a blind valley, and the Fig Tree Cave follows its path upstream through the hill, finishing where the creek enters at the impressive Victoria Arch. To wander along the course of the creek as it weaves its way through the hill in itself is amazing, but to do it in solitude, at our own pace was fantastic and made this one of our favourite experiences.

There is something truly humbling walking though these caves. The thousands of years it takes for them to form, the hundreds of millions of years it takes for the conditions to be just right for the limestone to be prepared and dissolved by the slightly acidic water percolating through the rock, it is simply un-fathonable. Wombeyan Caves are predominately Marble. I didn't know that Marble is a metamorphic rock, which is formed when limestone comes in close contact to igneous rock. Thus it has the same chemical composition as limestone, however its crystal structure is different, and any fossils that may have been present in the rock have long disappeared.

The boys walking to the Wombeyan Falls

On Monday we woke to sunshine... well not quite - but the rain and drizzle had lifted, so we decided to go for the four kilometre walk up the valley, past an old Marble Quarry and to the Wombeyan Falls. The Little People were well prepared with their little survival kits - and did really well with the walk. The initial stages were uphill, but on the old quarry access track so was relatively easy going. The descent to the bottom of the falls and return down the valley involved lots of steeper scrambling and crawling over fallen timber. The walk was well worth the effort - little legs proving that a good rule of thumb for distances for little legs is about their age in kilometres.

Stopping for another snack!

The survival kits they carry are a neat little bum bag with water bottle holder that Jo picked up at Campingworld. In the bag we carry some essential medication, a space blanket, tiny LED hand powered torch, a whistle and some snacks. A zip-lock bag with Macadamia nuts, Almond nuts and Dates is very popular. Mr Four and a half stopped every twenty metres to reach in and grab another piece of sustenance to get him a bit further down the track. We joked that it might have been quicker if we were to leave a trail of nuts for him to follow!

The top of the falls

In an attempt to wear the Little Helpers out completely following our walk to the falls, we joined the guided tour of the Junction Cave. This cave is completely different to the previous caves we had seen, again proving the diversity and beauty of our wonderful country. Our guide (Mr Johnny to the kids) explained a bit about the aboriginal history of the area, along with the European history of the Chalker family who pioneered the cave exploration in the area (and are still active members of the local community). John asked the kids to hold a piece of stalactite that had previously fallen and shined a torch through the 'solid rock', proving that Calcium Carbonate is indeed transparent... although he also explained that when they got back to school, their teachers might not believe them when they could say that can shine a light through solid rock!

Fig Tree Cave

In all our time at Wombeyan Caves was thoroughly enjoyable. We learnt a great deal about how caves are formed and marvelled a the magnificent formations. In all the time taken to realise this are staggering. 400 million years ago the conditions were right for a sea bed in the area to create areas of limestone and sandstone. Years of uplift, erosion, water action had created the caves over a time that we can scarcely imagine. 400 million years is impossibly long for any of us to understand - lest of all Mr Four and a Half...

So we bid a fond farewell to Wombeyan Caves and pointed north - destination Yerranderie.