Robot Claw

We returned to the caves this morning to visit the ‘cathedral cave’ which is the other they currently run tours through. This is the more famous cave, and we had high hopes.

We weren’t disappointed: it was just as breathtaking as yesterdays! It’s a very different cave, with much fewer stalagmites and stalactites but what it does have is enormous and the cave itself is massive.

It has three levels, each of which the guide took us through in order and at the deepest point we were about 45 m underground, which is about the height of a 10-story building.

Unlike yesterday’s cave this one shows evidence of human visits through the years via graffiti written in lamp or candle spot. Most are simple initials, and one is dated 1872 and looks like it could have been written yesterday. There are a few locations that were once painted (probably to amuse tourists) and the ‘pulpit’ on the large ‘cathedral’ stalagmite has a rotted Bible on top – a relic left after the last cave mass, which was held in 1966.

We spent a good hour inside and I liked how it was a very different experience from yesterday’s cave. These two are part of a 42-cave family and they used to have a third open for tours (The Phosphate Mine) which has been closed for years due to toxic gasses inside.

I’ve been to many caves in several countries and I’d have to say both of these at Wellington are amongst – if not the – most spectacular. They were absolutely worth the trip!

Oh and the snake warning was present for this tour as well. Our guide said they’d seen a black snake behind this seat a few weeks ago and it ‘took a snap’ at another guide! Watch for nasty snakes if you’re ever in the area 🙂

We woke early today in the hope we could visit a fire tower about an hour away from Coonabarabran. It was dark, and aside from trees looming over the road all we saw were endless clouds of bugs as we drove through them. Day dawned and we were forced to turn back due to a closed (dirt) road and once we got a chance to inspect the car bumper we saw this:

I think they’re mosquitoes!

We stopped at a few antique and op-shops along the way, but today’s goal was Wellington Caves which we reached about noon. Neither of us had done much research to preserve the surprise, and didn’t even know there were two caves. We bought tickets for one tour, and will do the other tomorrow.

The caves have been known for about 150 years, and in the late 19th century bones of megafauna were discovered inside. This included a diprotodon skull, which was a mammal about as big as a hippo and distantly related to a koala. The skeleton in the on-site gallery is shown next to a wombat for scale.

The cave entrance is about a half kilometer’s walk from the visitors center, and we got the usual safety spiel in advance from our guide ‘Westy’. Notable was the mention of snakes, including if we saw a brown snake (a man-killer) on the path to the cave the tour would be canceled and we’d receive a refund! Luckily, none were seen, although we did see a shed snakeskin.

The cave we toured today – Gaden cave – was incredibly abundant with ‘cave coral’. It was just Sue and I on the tour, and our guide was personably and knowledgeable and we spent almost an hour viewing the cave and hearing his stories.

Unlike every other cave I’ve visited this is a dry cave – which means no water or humidity – with a constant temperature of about 17 C. It was extremely pleasant inside, and you could probably comfortably live there!

Almost every wall was covered with stalactites and coral-like growths and they filled the vaulted roof high above us as well. Since there’s no water the cave is no longer ‘growing’ and these formations are as they were hundreds of millions of years ago.

It was beautiful and awe-inspiring and exceeded both of our expectations. This is apparently the lesser of their two caves, so we can’t wait to see the other one tomorrow!

Today Sue and I headed for the Warrumbungle Mountains. This was no small drive, and took us through many small rural towns along the way.

Muswellbrook, Scone, Murrurundi: names I’ve known since my childhood and have rarely (ever?) visited. The above is silo art right in the center of the small town of Quirindi; the last town before we turned west for Coonabarabran.

This leg took us along a straight road through cotton fields for over 80 kilometers. We saw cows and kangaroos, but almost no other vehicles. It was a lovely drive with iconic Australian rural scenery including a massive heard of cattle tended by actual stockmen (or ‘cowboys’) on horseback!

We made it to Coonabarabran then continued west a bit to visit our goal: Siding Spring Observatory. This is a complex of telescopes in 18 different buildings, built at this location over 60 years ago since this is one of the darkest parts of Australia. We checked out the visitors center (Sue had a muffin, I played a cocktail cab version of Terra Cresta) and then joined the last tour of the day into the large telescope in the big building in the above pic (I knicked from Wikipedia).

The tour was great, and our guide was an enthusiastic astronomer with decades of experience. The telescope we saw has a 4 meter mirror, is two stories high and for many years was the foremost tool to survey southern skies. When first installed the images were captured optically on photographic plates, but now the very same telescope is used for computer assisted astronomical spectrography and the photographic methods are no longer used.

Our tour took us into the telescope room as well as up on the gantry closer to the motto and even outside on the catwalk surrounding the dome. Although it was cold and very windy, the views from up there were stunning:

The tour was an hour and we loved it. Absolutely worth doing if you visit here. As a special bonus the site is full of kangaroos and we saw many of them hopping around. How many can you see in this pic:

The rains came in as we left, and mostly for lack of options (this is a small country town after all) dinner was at a Chinese restaurant far better than we expected:

On the short drive back to the motel we noticed Coonabarabran is a dark town, with almost no street lights and very little illumination at all. This is to help the telescope, but it’s a little eerie to witness. It may be the case most country towns are like this, and I’ll find out tomorrow on the second day of this road trip…

I headed out around 8 am and walked toward Merewether. It doesn’t feel like winter – it’s not cold at all – and shorts and a t-shirt are all I need and with the rains gone the weather today was lovely for a walk.

Dixon Park beach was very popular with surfers. I didn’t go down to the water, but I imagine it was a bit chilly. There were loads of joggers and dog walkers as well, and I felt invigorated and decided to climb the bluff toward Newcastle beach as well.

This was difficult and sweaty, and up on top the wind was bracing. Amazingly there was a tour group up on the memorial walk, and I overheard the guide talking about whale sightings. I lingered and scanned the horizon but saw nothing, so I headed onwards. I walked through King Edward Park and stopped in the public loo which was dark and wet and full of moths. I imagined evil lives there at night, and continued on my way.

Newcastle was even busier than Merewether, with lots of surfers and young mums with kids and skaters using the new skate park they’ve built on the beachfront. I almost bought a donut but remembered I had a Chomp in my backpack, which I devoured in seconds. I’d been walking maybe 2 hours, and my feet were a bit sore. I heard gulls but saw mynahs, including a trio eating a sausage in a gutter. They hopped away a bit as I approached, but returned to the meal once I had passed.

Hunter Street has gone to hell. Yes they’re building (expensive?) residential flats and yes there’s new cafes going in and even the Tower Cinema is being refurbished but compared to my memories the CBD no longer has a soul. I hope it returns, for the sake of the next generations.

A young woman stopped me and asked me something in a language I couldn’t understand. I thought it was Vietnamese and reached for my translator but she walked away before I could determine what she wanted. She didn’t seem upset at all, so I assume it was just directions. As I continued on an old man drove past on a mobility scooter with headlights so bright they were blinding. The Rock Shop was closed, so I didn’t have to waste the usual five minutes deciding not to buy an overpriced postcard.

I went to Maccas on King Street, which is the location where a man was set on fire and where the employees are now protected by glass barriers. Only the insane or the very desperate go to this Maccas, so take your pick which category I fall into. I waited twenty-two minutes for my Happy Meal, and then ate the cold fries and drunk the mostly thawed frozen coke in a silent rage, failing to ignore the ceaseless wailing of the feral children fighting over chicken tenders under a nearby table.

I fled Macca’s and headed toward Adamstown and passed a particularly large orb weaver spider sitting in its web. I had to get close to take the photo, and I’d estimate it was about 10 cm long. The web was massive – easily six feet wide – but thankfully it didn’t block the path so no-one had walked through. These spiders are harmless but their size is confronting and they’re one part of Australia I don’t miss.

I visited the game shop and the model shop and then – I’d been walking five hours now – stopped at Broadmeadow Macca’s for some energy. An apple pie and a frozen coke seemed about right, and this was the point when I decided the American frozen cokes are better than the Australian ones. Sacrilege I know, but it’s a hill I’m prepared to die on. I’ll have to check Hungry Jack’s since they were always better than Macca’s anyway.

The last stops were the various antique shops on Beaumont Street, and at one of them I purchased the above. What is it? Right now I’m not sure since I haven’t opened it, but if it’s what I think it is, you’ll see it again on the blog soon enough.

It’s a gift for Sue (her employer makes Weet-Bix) and I’ll give it to her tomorrow, since we’re heading on a long-promised road trip for a few days. It’s time to visit the mountains! Stay tuned to find out what we see…

Went to Adam’s yesterday for a full day of Magic playing. Thanks to Bernard, I had an entire box of Foundations (a recent set) that needed opening!

And so we did! We played three rounds of sealed (6 packs each), a fourth round with decks we’d made using our entire pools, then a fifth and final round using five-colour decks we also made with our cards. Fifteen games in total, and when the dust settled Adam had won 8-7. Including lunch this took about eight hours!

It was some of – if not the – most fun Magic we’d played. The set is very well designed with a high power level and great card synergy. Our decks were always well-matched and very few wins were easy. Thumbs up for Foundations!

We also got lucky with cards, and I’ll be taking about ten of the pricier ones back to the USA to sell back to the store I got the box from. Hopefully I’ll get enough credit to secure another box for next years festivities 🙂

Tried these yesterday as well. They have a slight hint – maybe a memory – of sausage roll in them, but mostly just taste like plain corn chips. I wasn’t a big fan, so these can stay here in Australia!