The Lava Tube and the Tablelands

Trip Start Sep 18, 2007
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Trip End Ongoing


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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

After leaving Tully it was full steam ahead to get way inland to see the Undara Lava Tubes. Lava Tubes are formed in only a very specific set of circumstances. The type of lava itself has to be a good insulator when it hardens, and it has to flow over a very slight slope, being the two main ones. So, 190,000 years ago, a volcano erupts. Lava starts flowing for a long time out of the volcano. It finds its easiest path to flow and starts flowing like a river on a strip of land. The lava on the outside of the flow cools from contact with the air or soil and becomes rock but it continues to flow on the inside. When the eruption stops the lava in the middle of the tube of rock continues to flow and drains out the far end from the volcano. The tube we were in is about 100km long, and is part of the worlds largest flow from a single volcano, 160km. We were the prize pupils as you have probably gathered at this stage. There was nobody else on the tour with us, which was cool. He told us that the lines you see on the pictures of the surface of the moon aren't cracks or formed by water An arch where the lava tube collapsed either side
An arch where the lava tube collapsed either side
 . Scientists believe they're collapsed lava tubes. So it was really something different to see and interesting.
We decided not to stay in the resort at Undara. You can stay in one of a number of old train carriages converted into rooms, looks pretty cool though. We went back to Innot Hot Springs for the night. The paved road is only wide enough for one car so we'd to pull onto the gravel shoulder to give way to the road trains on the road. They're the massive 55m (180 feet) long lorries they use for mining. There's no problem spotting them on the roads which don't really have any bends.
The following morning we climbed into the hot springs before hitting the road to see loads and loads of stuff in the tablelands and nearby. There's strange trees, lakes and tons of waterfalls.
We saw the Milstream Falls first where you can see the different layers of lava flow and the vertical columns as the lava  cooled. In the middle of visiting another 5 or 6 waterfalls we saw the Curtain Fig Tree and walked around Lake Barrine. The crater was another place we stopped. It was created by a steam explosion when lava met water under the surface of the ground they reckon. We took the steep walking track down from Crawfords lookout on the highway to North Johnstone River lookout in Wooroonooran National Park as we headed back towards Inisfail  at the end of the day.
So after alot of driving, getting out to see this and that and a good bit of walking too we got to Cairns just before dark.       
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