13 August 2013

You should probably go to Carey's Cave

| Barcham
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Caves

Because everyone loves a good cave, and there’s a great one about 45 minutes out of Canberra that you could be checking out right now.

Nestled in the hills of Wee Jasper, less than two hours drive from Canberra in the picturesque Yass Valley, are the underground treasures of Carey’s Cave.

With its stunning crystals, sculpted rock surfaces and impressive column formations, Carey’s Cave is described as one of the most beautiful and fascinating cave systems in Australia.

Down a flight of concrete stairs are seven impressive chambers each with a wealth of underground secrets, from aquatic fossils providing evidence of an ancient sea, through to perfectly preserved graffiti dating back to the late 1800s.

A tour through Carey’s Cave is not just a simple walk-through. Tour guide and manager Geoff Kell has mastered the delivery of a unique, entertaining and informative experience that provides opportunities not generally found on conventional cave tours.

This includes turning off all artificial light sources in the cave and allowing visitors to experience complete darkness for several minutes, as an experiment to see how long vision takes to adjust.

And to satisfy children’s natural desire to touch the delicate cave walls (a definite no-no), there is a touch table where the kids can hold the different types of rocks and crystals and see up close how they formed.

With its superb acoustics and lack of echo, Carey’s Cave is perfect for concerts and regularly holds performances during the year. Musicians are welcome to bring their instrument on a tour to try it out inthe space, and it’s also perfect for singers.

A keen musician himself, Geoff has been taking groups through Carey’s Cave for more than 20 years,and is a wealth of knowledge on all things to do with the caves. The stories of the amazing crystals androcks, along with a range of surprises and secrets, are all revealed on a Carey’s Cave tour.

Carey’s Cave is just one of the great experiences on offer in the Yass Valley. With a proud heritage connection to early rural Australia, a modern and well renowned food and wine scene, touring around Yass Valley is an experience not to be missed. www.yassvalley.com.au

WHAT: Carey’s Caves
WHERE: Wee Jasper, NSW (approx 50 minutes from Yass)
WHEN: Tours held on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays (check website for times)
ACCESS TO CAVES ONLY POSSIBLE ON A TOUR
COST: Adults – $15.40 Children – $9.90 Family – $40.70
NO EFTPOS OR CREDIT CARD FACILITIES AVAILABLE
WEB: www.weejaspercaves.com

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Gungahlin Al10:54 am 19 Aug 13

p1 said :

Gungahlin Al said :

Can you shed some light on that option please? Don’t know where that is and have to go up there on Saturday.

Masquara would be referring to the route which crosses the property Cavan.

Thanks!

Gungahlin Al said :

Can you shed some light on that option please? Don’t know where that is and have to go up there on Saturday.

Masquara would be referring to the route which crosses the property Cavan.

Gungahlin Al9:37 am 19 Aug 13

p1 said :

Masquara said :

p1 said :

Love the contrast between

…..about 45 minutes out of Canberra….

and

…less than two hours drive from Canberra…

For those not familiar with the trip, the drive can vary in length from about 1.5h via Yass (115km) to as little as 70kms when taking the back roads (Google won’t route you through some of them though). Actually achieving Barcham’s 45mins thought requires some commitment and disregard for wear and tear to your vehicle.

Best route goes through Rupert Murdoch’s property …

If you are leaving from the northside, that is usually true

Can you shed some light on that option please? Don’t know where that is and have to go up there on Saturday.

Masquara said :

p1 said :

Love the contrast between

…..about 45 minutes out of Canberra….

and

…less than two hours drive from Canberra…

For those not familiar with the trip, the drive can vary in length from about 1.5h via Yass (115km) to as little as 70kms when taking the back roads (Google won’t route you through some of them though). Actually achieving Barcham’s 45mins thought requires some commitment and disregard for wear and tear to your vehicle.

Best route goes through Rupert Murdoch’s property …

If you are leaving from the northside, that is usually true

eyeLikeCarrots said :

And to really round out your trip, go to the The Stables tavern and learn how not to run a pub.

It used to be such a nice place.

At least the previous owner wasn’t pissed at 11:30 am…

p1 said :

Love the contrast between

…..about 45 minutes out of Canberra….

and

…less than two hours drive from Canberra…

For those not familiar with the trip, the drive can vary in length from about 1.5h via Yass (115km) to as little as 70kms when taking the back roads (Google won’t route you through some of them though). Actually achieving Barcham’s 45mins thought requires some commitment and disregard for wear and tear to your vehicle.

Best route goes through Rupert Murdoch’s property …

The signatures are real. Over time they will disappear, so see if you love history, they are worth a look.

Love the contrast between

…..about 45 minutes out of Canberra….

and

…less than two hours drive from Canberra…

For those not familiar with the trip, the drive can vary in length from about 1.5h via Yass (115km) to as little as 70kms when taking the back roads (Google won’t route you through some of them though). Actually achieving Barcham’s 45mins thought requires some commitment and disregard for wear and tear to your vehicle.

Gungahlin Al12:34 pm 13 Aug 13

Looks like a gorgeous one.
Will be up there weekend after this – another scout camp and caving expedition. Will probably involve caves away from the usual tourist ones though.
And some dark skies for you-know-what (until the moon rises and washes it all out).

eyeLikeCarrots12:16 pm 13 Aug 13

And to really round out your trip, go to the The Stables tavern and learn how not to run a pub.

It used to be such a nice place.

He is an unusual fellow, but if you like the experience of spending hours in a pretty good cave then it’s very good value.

The drive via the dirt is really nice too- not much dirt at all.

I’m up for it. Sounds like a great school holidays trip for the boys.

The perfectly preserved graffiti from the nineteenth century is probably Falsies mob. Mid-career. (-:

Madam Cholet6:36 pm 12 Aug 13

I meant ‘likes to talk’. I’m sure he’s not so verbose that he lives for it!

Madam Cholet6:34 pm 12 Aug 13

We went there at the beginning of the year. Bit of a nutty experience – and if you have kids, it can get a bit long winded as the guide really lives to talk. Half an hour chat before you get in the caves, and then at east 15-30 mins in each chamber. It’s nice that it hasn’t been consumed by NSW Tourism, but I think he needs to look at his tour a bit. Still, we had a nice day and got good pictures or Pre-school news!

Highly recommended.

Geoff, a “captain Birdseye” lookalike makes the trip an educational and entertaining day out.

Love it there!

Editorial, advertorial or just plain advertisement? (Oh, and the quoted links are broken).

Not Paid, Just Interesting

Thanks for this.
I love the idea!

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