Undara Lava Tubes
A series of volcanic eruptions 190,000 years ago left hollow tubes of lava when the outer layers cooled, insulating the lava inside and acting as pipes until the eruptions ended and the lava
flowed out. Now some are tunnels, others have parially collapsed leaving caves and bridges, yet others have collapsed completely and become a site for the survival of pockets of vine scrub, protected from destructive
fires. The area around the tubes includes old volcanos and a swamp area that that rarely still has standing water this late in the year.
Click on a picture for a larger version.
Vine thicket in a collapsed tube
Bottle tree
The varying colours occur when lava cracks on cooling and later lava flows are forced into the crevices
The floors have filled with silt, sometimes metres deep
Vine thicket
Some of the tube walls were worn smooth
Tube collapses have left a bridge
Edge of a collapsed tube
The lodge at the lava tubes has converted railway carriages for accomodation
Old volcanic outcrops
100 mile swamp (100 miles from the coast)
Tim with termite hill
Central dining area
Wallaby
© Tim Cooke 2008
