DAY 89 9.9.13 We found ourselves on the road again by 9.50am. Mount Surprise was our next target. The road conditions changed from dual lane to single lane, there were roadworks, and we spent a fair bit of our time sitting off the bitumen inviting oncoming traffic to stay on the tar, hopefully so that we wouldn’t get showered with rocks. Mount Surprise has an underbody wash facility, which it invites you to use to rid the car of any weeds and seeds you may be carrying. We decided that to film this, we needed to test that it worked, then do a run with the incar camera running, then one with Annette filming from outside, and then a final one, because Annette’s first attempt didn’t work - not her fault, the camera defaulted to another setting. I think we didn’t have any seeds left after being so diligent in cleaning the car........ We supported the local cafe with lunch, found out that there were two tours on at Undarra Lava Tubes at 1pm and 3.30pm. We didn’t have enough time to get there in time for the 1pm tour, but we thought we’d have a crack. The fuel gauge dropped like a stone as we sat on 90 odd (we usually sit on 70-80 kph), and as we pulled up outside the reception at 12.50pm, Annette dived in to get us on the tour whilst I parked the car and van. It helps when you have been here before, because the tracks go everywhere. We made it to the tour bus right on 1pm. It appears the Undarra Tubes were first mentioned by Leichhardt, who stated that he had seen a boot print, and so the original discoverer is unknown and thus unheralded. It took many years of Government inactivity, and the interest of NASA to study the difference in the Basalt found here and on the moon, before much was done about protecting the area. Sir David Attenborough confirmed that the tubes were indeed the largest in the world at something over 30 metres in size. (I think I got all that right) We left Undarra, reached the Kennedy Hwy, and then an open metal dump on the side of the road looked perfect for us to stop for the night. Yet another good day. Tomorrow, we approach the Atherton Tableland.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Sep 2013 09:43:58 +0000
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