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Marakoopa Cave
Marakoopa Cave is a wet cave and contains spectacular decoration, sediment deposits relating to past periods of glaciations and significant communities of cave fauna – including the largest glow-worm display in any public-access cave in Australia. Marakoopa Cave is also home to the fascinating Tasmanian Cave spider.Typical of a wet cave, Marakoopa Cave displays signs of former stream activity in its upper levels, including stratified deposits of sand, clay and conglomerate.
Marakoopa Cave contains numerous attractively decorated chambers on different levels, extensive areas of flowstone and a variety of other interesting formations.
Marakoopa Cave has four surface openings associated with the entrance and exit of the two creeks which run through the cave, three of which are navigable. These two streams, known as Long Creek and Short Creek, begin as runoff from the slopes of Western Bluff, some 100 metres above the cave, and have created two independent cave passages.
A little background on the development of Marakoopa Cave
Like King Solomons Cave, Marakoopa Cave was first discovered in 1906 and it was initially known as Byards Cave. Two boys, James and Harry Byard, are believed to have originally entered the cave via its top entrance. The boys kept their discovery a secret, returning to the cave in 1910. James Byard obtained a land grant which included the cave area and its discovery became common knowledge in 1911, by which time a track had been cut to the river entrance, which is currently in use, and a heavy iron door covered the entrance.
In 1912 Marakoopa Cave was opened to the public, lit by 24 handheld carbide bicycle lamps which were carried by James, Harry and their younger siblings. In 1921 the cave was purchased from James Byard by the Tasmanian Government Tourist Bureau, but Harry stayed on as a guide for a number of years and helped with the installation of the first electric lighting system, switched on in May 1940 by the then Premier of Tasmania.
molecreek.info/natures-wonders/mole-creek-caves/marakoopa...
King Solomons Cave is a relatively small, dry cave located near Liena, 25 km west of Mole Creek, on the route to Cradle Mountain. King Solomons Cave is also home to the fascinating Tasmanian Cave spider.
The name of the cave was derived from the abundance of reflective calcite crystals, making it sparkle like the fabled treasures of King Solomon’s mines.
A separate cave, known as Queen of Sheba Cave, is adjacent to King Solomons Cave, separated only by a cave collapse which occurred prior to discovery.
King Solomons Cave currently has two entrances: a chimney opening in the ceiling of ‘Solomons Temple’ and a lower entrance, which was excavated in 1929.
King Solomons Cave is no longer an active cave in a hydrological sense. Due to a past lowering of the water table, the waters which created the cave have long since abandoned its passages for lower levels. Speleothem, or cave decoration, formation in the cave however is vigorous, relying on minor flows resulting from percolation of rainwater on the slopes above the cave.
A little background on the development of King Solomons Cave
King Solomons Cave was first discovered in 1906 by two local men, including a Mr Pochin, who promptly obtained a lease from the crown and began to operate the cave as a tourist attraction under the name Pochin’s Cave. In those early days, visitors had to negotiate a 40 ft drop from the surface via a series of stepladders, and thence through the cave on wooden planks. Two years later, Hobart man Mr Edward James heard of the discovery, obtained a 21 year lease of the land, improved access and installed acetylene gas lanterns to light the caves.
King Solomons Cave officially opened to the public on 31 October 1908, a highly organised and well attended occasion, by the then Premier of Tasmania. In the early days, the caves were generally only opened for organised expeditions. The high cost of recreational travel meant that tourists to this remote area were few and far between, and keeping the caves open was very expensive.
The present entrance was developed in 1927. Construction involved the widening of a secondary entrance and the clearing of rock and debris to open up a series of chambers to link the new entrance to the public area. At the same time, a generator and electric lighting system were also installed, the new lighting being switched on for the public for the first time in December 1928 – a time when the township of Mole Creek was not connected to the Hydro Electric grid.
Since then, improvements have continued, ancillary facilities have come and gone, and the caves are now under the care of the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service.
molecreek.info/natures-wonders/mole-creek-caves/king-solo...
Marakoopa Cave
Marakoopa Cave is a wet cave and contains spectacular decoration, sediment deposits relating to past periods of glaciations and significant communities of cave fauna – including the largest glow-worm display in any public-access cave in Australia. Marakoopa Cave is also home to the fascinating Tasmanian Cave spider.Typical of a wet cave, Marakoopa Cave displays signs of former stream activity in its upper levels, including stratified deposits of sand, clay and conglomerate.
Marakoopa Cave contains numerous attractively decorated chambers on different levels, extensive areas of flowstone and a variety of other interesting formations.
Marakoopa Cave has four surface openings associated with the entrance and exit of the two creeks which run through the cave, three of which are navigable. These two streams, known as Long Creek and Short Creek, begin as runoff from the slopes of Western Bluff, some 100 metres above the cave, and have created two independent cave passages.
A little background on the development of Marakoopa Cave
Like King Solomons Cave, Marakoopa Cave was first discovered in 1906 and it was initially known as Byards Cave. Two boys, James and Harry Byard, are believed to have originally entered the cave via its top entrance. The boys kept their discovery a secret, returning to the cave in 1910. James Byard obtained a land grant which included the cave area and its discovery became common knowledge in 1911, by which time a track had been cut to the river entrance, which is currently in use, and a heavy iron door covered the entrance.
In 1912 Marakoopa Cave was opened to the public, lit by 24 handheld carbide bicycle lamps which were carried by James, Harry and their younger siblings. In 1921 the cave was purchased from James Byard by the Tasmanian Government Tourist Bureau, but Harry stayed on as a guide for a number of years and helped with the installation of the first electric lighting system, switched on in May 1940 by the then Premier of Tasmania.
molecreek.info/natures-wonders/mole-creek-caves/marakoopa...
King Solomons Cave is a relatively small, dry cave located near Liena, 25 km west of Mole Creek, on the route to Cradle Mountain. King Solomons Cave is also home to the fascinating Tasmanian Cave spider.
The name of the cave was derived from the abundance of reflective calcite crystals, making it sparkle like the fabled treasures of King Solomon’s mines.
A separate cave, known as Queen of Sheba Cave, is adjacent to King Solomons Cave, separated only by a cave collapse which occurred prior to discovery.
King Solomons Cave currently has two entrances: a chimney opening in the ceiling of ‘Solomons Temple’ and a lower entrance, which was excavated in 1929.
King Solomons Cave is no longer an active cave in a hydrological sense. Due to a past lowering of the water table, the waters which created the cave have long since abandoned its passages for lower levels. Speleothem, or cave decoration, formation in the cave however is vigorous, relying on minor flows resulting from percolation of rainwater on the slopes above the cave.
A little background on the development of King Solomons Cave
King Solomons Cave was first discovered in 1906 by two local men, including a Mr Pochin, who promptly obtained a lease from the crown and began to operate the cave as a tourist attraction under the name Pochin’s Cave. In those early days, visitors had to negotiate a 40 ft drop from the surface via a series of stepladders, and thence through the cave on wooden planks. Two years later, Hobart man Mr Edward James heard of the discovery, obtained a 21 year lease of the land, improved access and installed acetylene gas lanterns to light the caves.
King Solomons Cave officially opened to the public on 31 October 1908, a highly organised and well attended occasion, by the then Premier of Tasmania. In the early days, the caves were generally only opened for organised expeditions. The high cost of recreational travel meant that tourists to this remote area were few and far between, and keeping the caves open was very expensive.
The present entrance was developed in 1927. Construction involved the widening of a secondary entrance and the clearing of rock and debris to open up a series of chambers to link the new entrance to the public area. At the same time, a generator and electric lighting system were also installed, the new lighting being switched on for the public for the first time in December 1928 – a time when the township of Mole Creek was not connected to the Hydro Electric grid.
Since then, improvements have continued, ancillary facilities have come and gone, and the caves are now under the care of the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service.
molecreek.info/natures-wonders/mole-creek-caves/king-solo...