Sept
23, Sunday
Entrance to Naracoote caves. Love the skeletons on the huge bolders
The caves have been dated to 500,000 years and extremely important fossils have been unearthed here which have helped to shine some light on the evolution of animal life on this continent.
Not as impressive as Carlsbad Caves, but still very interesting.
Reflection on a pond inside one of the caves
The stalagtite have strange teeth like shapes
A World Heritage Site since 1994, it is a series of interconnecting caves that are only partially opened to the public. Most of them are too narrow and shallow, but great fossils have been located here and have helped to identify what wild life lived in this part of the world 50,000 years ago. “Discovered in 1908, it is considered one of the richest deposits in the world. Tens of thousands of specimens have been recovered, most superbly preserved. Naracoorte Caves contain a record of evolution spanning several ice ages and highlight the impact on Australia’s mammals of both climatic change and the arrival of humans.”
Water still glistens on some of the stalagtites
Shining a light on the roof of one cave
There are still shells at this level of the cave, imbedded in the roof of the cave
The cave where they found the most animal bones was the most interesting. So was the re-assembly and lighting.
The little kids really loved it.... and so did the big kids.
They are still digging in some areas, so there could still be more interesting finds to come.
Lovely views during todays drive
Again through all sorts of areas
Now these cows have a great view from their pasture
and along the coast there are wind farms as well
By 10 am I was up and on the road to the Naracoorte caves
and the Wonambi Fossil Centre, just a few kilometers away from the motel.
The caves have been dated to 500,000 years and extremely important fossils have been unearthed here which have helped to shine some light on the evolution of animal life on this continent.
Not as impressive as Carlsbad Caves, but still very interesting.
Reflection on a pond inside one of the caves
The stalagtite have strange teeth like shapes
A World Heritage Site since 1994, it is a series of interconnecting caves that are only partially opened to the public. Most of them are too narrow and shallow, but great fossils have been located here and have helped to identify what wild life lived in this part of the world 50,000 years ago. “Discovered in 1908, it is considered one of the richest deposits in the world. Tens of thousands of specimens have been recovered, most superbly preserved. Naracoorte Caves contain a record of evolution spanning several ice ages and highlight the impact on Australia’s mammals of both climatic change and the arrival of humans.”
Water still glistens on some of the stalagtites
Shining a light on the roof of one cave
There are still shells at this level of the cave, imbedded in the roof of the cave
The cave where they found the most animal bones was the most interesting. So was the re-assembly and lighting.
The little kids really loved it.... and so did the big kids.
They are still digging in some areas, so there could still be more interesting finds to come.
After touring both caves with guides, I got back in the
car and continued down on route A66 passed Mount Gambier, onto Portland, Port
Fairy and made it to Warrnambool, where I was hoping to spend the night.
Again through all sorts of areas
Now these cows have a great view from their pasture
and along the coast there are wind farms as well
I haven’t talked about the scenery along the road. I’m driving through flat areas where there are fields full of sheep, cattle and horses. Every once in a while there are vineyards on either side of the road; some with still dormant vines, some with just a blush of green on them. As I drove out of Warrnambool I spotted a cheese factory. Memories of Thornloe…..STOP the car ! They don’t make curds here unfortunately, and they don’t age their cheddar as much as I like, but I still bought some cheese….and a bottle of wine. I love wine country; how civilized is that to have a wine shop in your cheese shop.
I picked up a motel brochure in Naracoorte
and it indicated a nice motel in Warrnambool.
Luck was with me again, I got a room for the night. Very nice lady owner, who signed me up for a
discount plan with the motel book I had picked up. I’ll be able to use it in
New Zealand as well.
I ended up going across the way to a mall where I
purchased a few items that will allow me to keep some food in the car and in
the hotel/motel rooms. Oh, and there was a bakery! It’s amazing how you can have a complete
dinner out of baked goods! YUM ! ! !
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