Capricorn Caves

We stumbled across a hidden gem when we found Capricorn Caves and the attached Campsite. A series of limestone caves formed hundreds of millions of years ago by an ancient barrier reef and pushed up towards the surface in the last few million years. The cave is most above ground with only small parts going sub-tararian meaning it is a very pleasant climate inside. We took a tour with a quite remarkable guide. Having worked in London curating the Natural History Museum and at Chicago's Field Museum designing the latest Artic Fossils exhibit, he is an expert on Fossils, Rock formations and the dinosaurs and ancient mammals that roamed our world. Quite how he ended up in the tiny tourist destination of Caves working at Capricorn we don't know but we are very happy he did.

These caves were discovered by the Olsen family in the earlies 1800s and we wondered if before them other humans would actually have lived in these caves. The answer is probably no, and for a good reason. Around 40000 years ago, huge animals were living there. They don't exist anymore but they found bones and we can imagine what they looked like. The diprotodon was a massive wombat the size of a rhino with only four massive teeth, twin on each side, one upper and one lower each the size and shape of a meat clever. I wouldn't fancying sharing a cave with one of them.

One of the feature of this cave is a part called the cathedral. After a narrow corridor the space opens up and you end up in a room with a very high ceiling just the size of a little chapel. The fact that they put church benchs in rows and created a little altar brings the atmosphere of a cathedral. Apparently lots of wedding take place there! It is also famous for concerts as the accoustics are really good. We didn't see any wedding or concert but listened to a piece of music with a light show ending by some 20 seconds in full darkness. It was a fun experience!

The attached Campsite was very simple and very quiet, we were one of only 4 campers in a site which can hold 30 quite a change for us!Read more