Sleep was hard to come by as the overnight temperature dipped to a chilly 2°C and the distant howls of wild dogs echoed through the still night air. We awoke to a white landscape with a layer of frost covering everything.
After breakfast we drove the short distance to Yarrangobilly Caves converging at the visitors centre. The 12km limestone karst systems in Kosciuszko National Park has produced many caves although 6 are open for tours. After weighing up the options, we decided to book in for the 2 o'clock tour of Jillabenan Cave. With several hours spare, we headed to the River Walk bound for the thermal pool.
Fed by a natural spring, the thermal pool has had several renovations, with the most recent being in 1969 where the work was completed by prisoners being held in detention at Yarrangobilly. The water was a very pleasant 27°C so despite the overcast coolish weather, we all stayed in for a decent amount of time. The pool is a decent size ~ 20m in length and the kids were kept entertained by doing laps which was probably also helped by the fact that the concrete walls were covered in slimy algae! Apparently pobblebonks (the Eastern Banjo Frog) breeds here but we weren't able to spot any.
A picnic lunch helped us all to warm up again before the short but steep trek out to the car. From here we drove around to Jillabenan Cave, the oldest and smallest of the Yarrangobilly caves. We were wowed with the lovely displays of stalactites, cave coral, shawls, stalagmites and helictites. The most impressive by far were the delicate straws, which grow at a rate of 1cm per year. There were straws which were over 3 metres long!
After our cave education, we returned to the campsite. The big boys decided to run home, taking much longer than anticipated, arriving as the sun was setting with tales of adventure. Our evening was complete with birthday cheesecake (yum!) and cooking damper on sticks! A birthday to remember!
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