DavidJHeffer: August 2013

20.01.2013

Apologies for the delay in getting around to writing my next post; the last two months have seen some monumental changes in my personal life which include moving back to the UK and splitting up with the man who I made & enjoyed this amazing trip with. Until now, it has been a little difficult to reflect back on our journey without some sadness and regret however I am now ready to continue sharing my experiences during what remains one of the most incredible experiences in my life.

Back to the blog and it's day 13 of the road trip - unlucky for some, but certainly not for us. It took a little over an hour to reach our next destination in the beautifully sparse South Australia, Naracoorte Caves National Park.

The park is S.A's only World Heritage site, being recognized as such in 1994 for its extensive fossil record considered to be the most complete fossil collection found in Australia. The 6 km² park has no less than 26 caves to explore with the World Heritage Site itself accounting for over half of it. It is a family-friendly site to explore with lots of signs and tracks alongside a shop, visitor centre, restaurant, camping ground and all the usual facilities you would expect. And a few you might not - such as this life-size statute of an ancient wombat-like creature (called a Diprotodon) which roamed Australia alongside the ancient indigenouse people until 25,000 years ago and who's fossils have been found on site. A very friendly looking chap eh!

It was the peak of summer in Australia and the temperatures were unrelentingly stuck in the high thirties celsius (and sometimes above this) so it was a relief to go underground for a little bit of shade. We arrived at the days first stop, a tour in Victoria Fossil Cave, which is perhaps the most famous in the park.

It was my first experience going down into a cave and owing to slight claustrophobia, I timidly ventured down into this cool underground cavern. Once down there, you are simply taken aback at the sheer breathtaking beauty of it all. The place is littered with countless stunning stalagmites (growing up from the ground) and stalactites (growing down from the roof). I could have stopped to take photo's for hours and been perfectly content. Of course we were on a guided tour with time limitations in place, but there was plenty of opportunities for snapping a photo or two. Our lovely guide explained the history of the caves and the science behind these formations in an informative yet interesting way. Being the geek I am (see the t shirt) I was certainly in my element! Check out the amazing photos.

What's particularly special about this cave - and what earned it being listed as a World Heritage Site - is the massive fossil record discovered here. 300,000 years worth of fossils were found in a 4 metre deep fossil bed which lay undisturbed for millennia. The cave was effectively a huge pitfall trap, thousands of animals fell in and were unable to escape; their skeletons remained and built up until they reached the roof and eventually the cave was sealed shut 15,00 years ago. Since excavation started 30 years ago, tens of thousands of specimens have been found at the site with over 93 individual vertebrate species providing a superb snapshot of Australian wildlife. On the tour we got to see a replica skeleton of an ancient kangaroo found here and a preserved excavation site which shows just how many fossils were - and still are - being found.

The cave acted like a huge natural pitfall trap: animals that fell in were unable to escape through the high entrance and died, their skeletons lying nearly undisturbed for millennia. As the cone grew, fans of sediment and animal bones spread out over the cave floor. The sediment pile eventually grew up to the ceiling and blocked the entrance about 15,000 years ago, sealing the cave and its contents until discovery. Over nearly 30 years of excavation and research more than 5000 catalogued specimens have been excavated from only 4% of what is estimated to be a staggering 5000 tonnes of bone-rich sediment. - See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Naracoorte#sthash.QlZgnNKc.dpuf

For more than 300,000 years sediment and animal bones filled the Fossil Chamber through an opening in the ceiling, forming an enormous cone-shaped pile. The cave acted like a huge natural pitfall trap: animals that fell in were unable to escape through the high entrance and died, their skeletons lying nearly undisturbed for millennia. As the cone grew, fans of sediment and animal bones spread out over the cave floor. The sediment pile eventually grew up to the ceiling and blocked the entrance about 15,000 years ago, sealing the cave and its contents until discovery. Over nearly 30 years of excavation and research more than 5000 catalogued specimens have been excavated from only 4% of what is estimated to be a staggering 5000 tonnes of bone-rich sediment.
From the 3m - 4m deep fossil bed, tens of thousands of specimens representing at least 93 vertebrate species have been recovered, ranging in size from very small frogs to buffalo-sized marsupials. These include superbly preserved examples of the Australian Ice-Age megafauna as well as modern species such as the Tasmanian Devil and Thylacine, wallabies, possums, bettongs, mice, bats, snakes, parrots, turtles, lizards and frogs. The fossil material includes complete postcranial remains (many of which are partially articulated) and skulls so well preserved that even the most delicate bones are still intact. - See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Naracoorte#sthash.QlZgnNKc.dpuf

Key stages in the evolution of the Australian climate and biota are included in the time span represented by the Naracoorte assemblage, including the period during which humans first arrived in Australia. The continent was becoming increasingly cool and dry, with occasional periods of warmer, wetter climate towards the Late Pleistocene. The dry and wet periods correspond to glacial and interglacial periods respectively on the other continents. These climatic changes, in particular increasing aridity, had profound effects on the Australian fauna and flora. By 15,000 years ago a significant number of large mammal species had become extinct.

Naracoorte fossils

For more than 300,000 years sediment and animal bones filled the Fossil Chamber through an opening in the ceiling, forming an enormous cone-shaped pile. The cave acted like a huge natural pitfall trap: animals that fell in were unable to escape through the high entrance and died, their skeletons lying nearly undisturbed for millennia. As the cone grew, fans of sediment and animal bones spread out over the cave floor. The sediment pile eventually grew up to the ceiling and blocked the entrance about 15,000 years ago, sealing the cave and its contents until discovery. Over nearly 30 years of excavation and research more than 5000 catalogued specimens have been excavated from only 4% of what is estimated to be a staggering 5000 tonnes of bone-rich sediment.
From the 3m - 4m deep fossil bed, tens of thousands of specimens representing at least 93 vertebrate species have been recovered, ranging in size from very small frogs to buffalo-sized marsupials. These include superbly preserved examples of the Australian Ice-Age megafauna as well as modern species such as the Tasmanian Devil and Thylacine, wallabies, possums, bettongs, mice, bats, snakes, parrots, turtles, lizards and frogs. The fossil material includes complete postcranial remains (many of which are partially articulated) and skulls so well preserved that even the most delicate bones are still intact.
- See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Naracoorte#sthash.QlZgnNKc.dpu

Even this relatively spacious cave has some low roof heights - not always easy to navigate for the 6 foot 4 (193cm) boyfriend but all of these have been widened to accommodate the huge number of visitors who now visit. It's hard to imagine how cramped & compact the original site would have been but if it wasn't for the determination of the original excavators then we wouldn't have the fossil record we do now. And of course, exploring the passageways under the ground is actually really exciting and brings out the small child in anyone.

We then got the chance to explore a self-guided smaller cave on site, which ended up being a little more terrifying than we imagined. It was deserted and the different areas of the cave are lit up by motion detecting lights on the ground. As we strolled through, believing we were alone, we suddenly heard strange growling noises from the far corner of the cave. We inched closer to investigate and when two figures came hurtling towards us then I won't pretend my heart didn't skip a beat. Combined with the sharp scream escaping the boyfriend behind me, we both ran the other way as fast as we could until reality set in and we all fell about laughing. The two figures turned out to be two mischievous Ozzies who had hidden from us until the lights automatically switched off. It was definitely an eventful (but hysterical) end to a great day at the caves!