Fires and Brimstone

The Undara Lava Tubes are a unique geological feature in North Queensland that I had read about quite early on when planning this trip and it sounded like an interesting place to visit. The lava tubes (or “chubes” as Ash tried to write in her diary) were formed around 190,000 years ago and consist of 100’s of kilometres of underground tunnels formed by rivers of lava that solidified on the outer edges and then drained in the centre. It was only by chance that I rang up the camp site the day before we arrived to book as the CP was full and we had to be put in an overflow area. No power and water (again!) but we were located right next to a camp kitchen so it didn’t really matter (except that the woes of our fridge were continuing with it not working at all off the gas). We had booked in for a 2hr tour the following morning so the rest of the day was spent veging out and the kids catching up on their diaries and a bit of school work (including a few extra spelling words for Ash for her previous indiscretion!)

Part of the Undara Experience (as the resort is called) includes nightly entertainment around the campfire. That night was “Star gazing with Mal”. Once everyone had got comfortable around the campfire, Mal then proceeded to move us all to a large open area well away from it so that the light from the fire and nearby buildings wouldn’t impede our vision. Why we didn’t just do away with the fire and meet at the viewing area in the first place is beyond me!! Although the stars weren’t quite as bright as they were when we star gazed at the Devil’s Marbles, it was much warmer and we spent a very nice evening as Mal pointed out the various constellations and planets (Jupiter and Saturn). We even saw a couple of shooting stars and a satellite.

I found our 2 hour tour of the lava tubes the next day to be a little disappointing. The guide was very good and quite knowledgeable but the tubes themselves were dark (the only light being from the guide’s torch) and did not present very well – certainly not as well as the glossy brochure showed them to be!! That night we had our own fire and finally got to toast the marshmallows that we had been carrying since Port Augusta!! It was a beautiful night and with the wood being so dry, the fire was one of the best I’ve ever lit (if I don’t say so myself!) – 10 smoky bear points!!
We were keen to leave for the beaches of Ellis Beach (north of Cairns) the next day as we were meeting up with my Mum and Dad who were flying up for the week after themselves spending 6 weeks in Europe!! It was a bit hairy negotiating the narrow winding roads between Atherton and the coast but after pulling over several times to let the traffic that was banking up behind us pass, we eventually arrived safely and the kids had hardly waited for the car to stop before jumping out and racing over to Grandma and Papa’s beachfront cabin to announce our arrival to them (and the rest of the caravan park too!)