Jul 31 2008
The Caves of Hastings
90 minutes’ drive south of Hobart is the little town of Hastings and the absolutely magnificent cave formations.
Hastings Newdegate Cave is one of only two Dolomite Caves on show in Australia. The rock is Precambrian, 600 million years old. Most tourist caves are limestone and are comparatively young — just 450 million years or less.
The Hastings cave group predates hard bodied life on earth, so there are no fossils. There’s plenty of cave life though, strangely pale crickets and blind spiders.
I find it strange that there are no signs of the indigenous people in the cave complex. Perhaps in earlier times artifacts may have been removed, it seems unusual that formations of this size and splendour wouldn’t be used by people living in the area.
The caves remained unseen to white settlers until 1917, when timber workers discovered the entrance. It gets a steady stream of visitors now, even in winter.
Its richly decorated chambers began forming tens of millions of years ago. a rich wonderland of stalagmites and stalactites. Formations in the cave are spectacular and include flowstone, stalactites, columns, shawls, straws, stalagmites and the unusual helictites.
You can get around quite easily, the Cave is spacious and well-lit and there are no narrow passages.
There are around 240 stairs but these are traversed in small sections.
Wear a jumper! The underground temperate is naturally maintained at nine degrees Celsius all year round and little icy drips of water will get down your neck.
Visitors who are keen to explore the cave further than the regular guided tour must have a Parks and Wildlife Services guide with them, and two extra adventure trips are offered.
I’ve never seen caves as impressive as this, they’re a must for every visitor.
How to get there
Hastings Caves State Reserve is reached along an excellent highway and, from Hobart, the trip will take about one and a half hours.
The roads are well signposted, so getting there is straightforward, although the visitor centre is down a dirt road.
The Caves are approximately five kilometres from the Visitor centre, and there are interpreted pamphlets, souvenirs and a licensed café.
From the carpark, it’ s a five minute walk to the cave entrance through lovely bushland.
Like to shout me a cold beer?
