The drive from Adelaide to the Naracoorte caves wasn't anything to rave about. Pretty simple long roads with heaps of farm lands and wineries along the way. Once we got to the caves, we booked two tours. One through the Victoria Fossil Cave and the other took us through the Bat Cave (dun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-batman!) To be perfectly honest, I wasn't keen on walking through caves but David really wanted to take advantage of everything Australia has to offer. No way I'm going to go against that type of great mentality. I've done a few before and always seem to be disappointed because nothing has ever compared to the caves I visited a little outside of Prague when I backpacked through Europe. While these caves weren't as picturesque, I have to say I really enjoyed both tours. Maybe it's my age, but I really appreciated all the knowledge and historical information we received about fossils. Australia's landscape and animals always reminds me of the prehistoric era. They have the worlds oldest rain forest. They have dinosaur looking animals like cassowaries and echidnas. And these caves held fossils that showed koala and kangaroo relatives, which basically looked the same but were much much larger. Scientist have discovered that kangaroos and koalas have not had to evolve for over 400,00 years. Not sure why, but that really stayed with me. Anyhow, take a look.
Time to hit the road and experience one of the best road trips in the world. The Great Ocean Road is a 12 hour straight drive from Adelaide to Melbourne. There's plenty of stops to make along the way and people spend weeks doing it. We booked a hotel for one night in Warrnambool, which is a little over half way. We didn't know anything about this town other than it was a good midway point. It turned out to be a very cool and picturesque town. But before we got there, we planned on making a stop at the Naracoorte caves, South Australia's only World Heritage sight. These caves have pitfalls that have collected fossils for over 500,000 covering several ice ages. Inside the caves, you can find fossils of megafauna that became extinct just 60,000 years ago. Cool huh?!
The drive from Adelaide to the Naracoorte caves wasn't anything to rave about. Pretty simple long roads with heaps of farm lands and wineries along the way. Once we got to the caves, we booked two tours. One through the Victoria Fossil Cave and the other took us through the Bat Cave (dun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-batman!) To be perfectly honest, I wasn't keen on walking through caves but David really wanted to take advantage of everything Australia has to offer. No way I'm going to go against that type of great mentality. I've done a few before and always seem to be disappointed because nothing has ever compared to the caves I visited a little outside of Prague when I backpacked through Europe. While these caves weren't as picturesque, I have to say I really enjoyed both tours. Maybe it's my age, but I really appreciated all the knowledge and historical information we received about fossils. Australia's landscape and animals always reminds me of the prehistoric era. They have the worlds oldest rain forest. They have dinosaur looking animals like cassowaries and echidnas. And these caves held fossils that showed koala and kangaroo relatives, which basically looked the same but were much much larger. Scientist have discovered that kangaroos and koalas have not had to evolve for over 400,00 years. Not sure why, but that really stayed with me. Anyhow, take a look.
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Anelle and I have had an extremely fun filled week with my in-laws. As expected, the week was filled with eating, drinking, hiking and an abundance of laughter. Before hitting the road, we would spend a few days in Adelaide. Day one consisted of lunch at the Central Market, coffee, walking through the Botanical Gardens, lunch and a couple of cocktails before calling it a day.
After lunch at the Central Market, we walked around and picked up some mixed nuts, fruit, and jerky for the road trip that was coming up a couple days later. From the Central Market, we jumped on the city tram towards North Terrace. On the way to the Botanical Gardens, we stopped for some caffeine to take away. We took our time through the botanical gardens, while my father and brother in-law (David and Adrian) showed off their knowledge when it came to the Latin words for a variety of trees. I think one was the “Ginormous Gummy” and my personal favorite was something like the “Eucalyptus Maximus.” Like I said, it’s been a week filled with laughs. From the gardens, we walked along the Torrens River before stopping for dinner. After walking along the Torrens, we went to grab some food at Street Adl. South Australian cider with some chips and kangaroo dogs. YUM! |
AuthorHusband & Wife. One with an addiction to cheese and wine, the other with donuts and beer. It's a good thing we both enjoy the outdoors and the gym as much as we do! Follow us while we make a lifetime of memories while trying to avoid all the animals that can kill us In A Sunburned Country. Archives
December 2015
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