Five of the Best: CAVE TOURS

Head underground for a day of exploring - Indiana Jones style

1. JENOLAN CAVES

Near the pretty town of Oberon, about three hours’ drive from Sydney, the exquisite Jenolan system offers numerous ways to explore its caves, including day, night and app-guided Aboriginal culture tours. You can explore the Temple of Baal Cave and its incredible 9m-high Angel’s Wing cave shawl; the humbling Cathedral Chamber in Lucas Cave; the dainty spar crystals in Chifley Cave, and the ancient underground river in Imperial Cave — ideal for the less mobile.

2. WOMBEYAN CAVES

Take a self-guided tour of the sublime, beautifully lit Fig Tree Cave at the Wombeyan Karst Conservation Reserve in the Southern Highlands, a three-hour drive southwest of Sydney. Other tours include guided adventures through Wollondilly Cave and Junction Cave, both replete with impressive formations and imposing columns. Back on the surface, the Wombeyan Waterfall Walking Track has lyrebirds and wallabies, panoramic lookouts and a limestone-gorge swimming hole.

3. YARRANGOBILLY CAVES

In northern Kosciuszko National Park, Yarrangobilly Caves is about seven hours’ drive southwest from Sydney, and worth every kilometre. South Glory, the largest of six exhilarating caves, has self-guided tours of its cavernous chambers, while Jillabenan Cave, the smallest, is the most accessible and is filled with fine, colourful formations. Above ground, it takes about an hour to complete the loop of the Yarrangobilly River Walk — or longer, depending on how much time you spend in the thermal pool.

4. ABERCROMBIE CAVES

An area painted by grevilleas and wattles, the Abercrombie Karst Conservation Reserve is in the Bathurst area of country NSW, about four hours’ drive west of Sydney. Take a selfguided tour of Archway Cave, home to enormous colourful formations, a giant natural arch and the gold miners’ dance platform, built in 1880 and still used today. Thrill-seekers might prefer the Belfry Cave guided tour, accessible only by a suspension bridge and ladders or narrow passageways. Finish your day with a refreshing swim at Grove Creek Falls on the Mount Gray Walking Track.

5. WELLINGTON CAVES

Five hours by road from Sydney, Wellington Caves has daily guided tours of its two show caves, the Cathedral and Gaden caves, featuring 15m-tall crystal formations and complex cave corals. The guided Fossil and Phosphate Tour explores a 100-yearold mine and the fossils and bones of megafauna the area two million years ago.

INSPIRED TO VISIT NSW? Check out our tours here:

bit.ly/3bnrnQg