Undara Experience
Undara Volcanic National Park is situated 275 kilometers Southwest of Cairns, and Savannah Guides conduct a range of nature based tours showing the amazing Undara Lava Tubes, acclaimed the largest and longest on the planet.
Undara is an Aboriginal word meaning "a long way". Its story began some 190, 000 years ago, when it erupted and fiery molten lava flowed into nearby dry river beds. The external lava quickly cooled and crusted, but underneath, a fierce flow snaked its way through, leaving a drained, hardened exterior to create long, dark, hollow tubes.
Ancient roof collapses have since created fertile pockets where rainforest plant, insect and animal species now thrive.
The rainforest in these collapsed sections is found elsewhere in Madagascar and East Africa, having evolved from the time of Gondwana. These are the lava tubes you will explore, each one offering a slightly different insight into one of the world's best lava tube systems.
The Undara Volcanic National Park lies within the Mc Bride volcanic province. There are 164 volcanoes, vents and cones within this area. Many millions of years before these volcanoes formed, the area was a shallow granite valley.
Over the past 7-8 million years the granite valley has been filled with lava and ash flows. What you see now in the area is a gently sloping dome, which is the lava flow from Undara.
Undara spilled out enough liquid to fill Sydney Harbour 3-4 times. One flow from Undara that travelled in a northwesterly direction for 164km, is considered to be the longest single lava flow from one vent in the world in modern geological time.
At different times of the day certain animals are quite common in this area. During the early morning and late afternoon both the Antilopine and Common Wallaroo (Euro) are common sights on your tour. In the roof collapses of the lava tubes you may see the Mareeba Rock Wallaby. The best viewing times for wildlife around the Lodge is after sunrise and around sunset. What's visible around the Lodge at this time is the Rufous Bettong or Rat kangaroo, the smallest and one of the oldest of the Kangaroo family also seen is the Eastern Grey Kangaroo.
If its a still night the best place to view wildlife is around a prominent light source. The light will attract insects, which will in turn attract your insect eaters. If you are patient, you may see either Tawny Frogmouths or Boobook Owls feeding around these lights.
The guides at Undara Experience are members of the Savannah Guides organisation, a network of professional guides with an in-depth collective knowledge of the natural and cultural assets of the Tropical Savannahs of Northern Australia.
Undara Lava Lodge
The Undara Lava Lodge has been in operation since 1990, running tours to the lava tubes and accommodating guests in a unique atmosphere. The lodge area has been kept as natural as possible, with only what's native to the area being planted in windbreaks and privacy barriers.
The 23 railway carriages on the lodge grounds were all ex-Queensland Government Rail, with the oldest dating back to 1888. The majority of the carriages were used on the Brisbane to Cairns run, which was called the Sunshine Express. They were purchased in North Queensland, then transported after refitting to the lodge site on semi-trailers.
The present site of the carriages is an old wagon track. If you walk down the carriage track you will notice that the majority of carriages in this area are named after volcanoes in the region. The exception to this is the first carriage which is named after one of the regions pioneering families.
So come and stay a while in this beautiful outback region and experience something that you will treasure forever - we call it Undara Experience.
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