Off to the Outback

March 14, 2010


Today marks our adventure into the outback, the Savannah really as we drove inland about four hours to Undarra National Park. This had us heading due West, up the Gilles hwy. into the Atherton Tablelands and across the Australian Savannah into the dry. The Gilles hwy. climbs over a thousand meters to the tablelands along 17km of narrow switchback road cut into the mountain. I must admit it was a white knuckle drive as it drops off precipitously to one side and hugs the mountain on the other. The Aussies seem to have no trouble driving its 100 k. speed limit however I couldn’t manage it. The drive through the tablelands is lovely rolling green fields punctuated with lush tropical river valleys. Much of this area is cattle land, however in the lowlands along the coast it is banana and sugar cane plantations. As you head west the land gradually flattens and begins to dry turning into a flat volcanic plain covered with grasslands (thus the bush fire danger) and widely spread gnarly gum trees and huge termite mounds. Much of the soil is that bright red colour associated with Ayers rock, a bit like P.E.I. Not much traffic along this stretch or road, however the Savannah way is the main highway of the Northlands and services the mining industry. Every so often you will pass a road train which is an 18 wheeler plus two extra trailers. These things are over 55 meters long and move along pretty quickly.

As this is the end of the rainy season and the start of the dry, it is low season for the Undarra region. We stayed at the only game in town which is a lease of land on a corner of the National park where you can camp. They have a set of turn of the century rail cars done up as lodges that were simply beautiful. The restaurant which served absolutely gargantuan portions is under a huge tent like structure which catches and stores the rain for the dry. As it was off season we literally were the only ones there for bush lunch. Later a few more groups showed up, however in the summer they have hundreds of visitors staying with them.

The Undara experience could go on for pages however what drew us, was the outback experience and the volcanoes. The Rosella plain (named after the pink flowers that grow on it) is actually a huge recent (the last 190 000 year or so) volcanic flow. It is dotted with cinder cones but the real draw is the lava tubes. The Undara volcano spread lava for over 190 km from the cone, much of it through long tubes that flowed along buried river tracks. When the lava flow stopped and cooled the tubes remained. Where they have collapsed much more lush vegetation grows as the base of them is close to the water table. These tubes are the mating site for hundreds of thousands of bats, and can be visited by tourists like ourselves. Some of the tubes are closed as carbon dioxide from plants and animals builds up in them and others are unsafe due to rock-fall or are filled with water during the wet. We were fortunate in that there was no one there, the rains had just passed and for the first time since 1992 the tubes were swimmable and the bats were at the height of their breeding season.

That afternoon we headed into the park and walked the rim of the Kalkani volcanic crater. Unlike the Undara which was a prolific, fast flowing lava this was a pyroclastic cone made up of foamy, explosive lava ash and bombs. When you think of a volcano, this is the shape that comes to mind. The view was spectacular over the savannah you can see volcanic ‘pimples’ dotted all over. Back at camp after a much appreciated swim to remove the dust we went out on a sunset tour with one of the park guides. This involved watching the sun set to sparkling wine and cheese, but the real reason for the outing was the twilight exit of the bats. We visited Barker tube where the main bat colony lives. These are what the Aussies call micro bats (the size we are used to) and the tube houses a colony of about 50,000 permanent residents. During breeding season however it swells to about half a million bats! At twilight they all come out to feed, thousands and thousands flying around us at the tube mouth we could feel the wind and their wings brush us. Duncan actually got smacked in the temple by one and had a mark to prove it. Around the mouth of the tube, Night Tiger snakes hang down in front of the cave mouth and snatch bats right out of the air. We went into the tube surrounded by bats. It was truly an unforgettable experience like none other! On the way back we looked for wildlife, there are all manner of roos, wallabies, cockatoos and even dingoes about, unfortunately the dingoes stayed well hidden. Back at camp we had a late dinner under the Southern Cross and I got to try ‘the trio’, kangaroo, crocodile and emu all seared on the BBQ. Delicious however crocodile is actually quite bland. We slept in our train car surrounded by kangaroos and wallabies which are all over the place and the sounds of the bush.