Weekend Adventure: Wombeyan Caves, NSW Australia

What is there to do on a weekend when it’s miserable outside? Go on an adventure!

My boyfriend and I have this plan, a pact more like it, that we should go on adventures whenever we can so life doesn’t seem like it’s getting boring and stagnate. Because lets face it, we all work too damn hard during the week not to enjoy ourselves on the weekend.

So Saturday morning we woke up and decided that we haven’t explored the waterfalls near our house. Though rather than wanting to stay in Sydney, we decided an adventure to the Southern Highlands to see Fitzroy Falls and then we would go 4wd to the Wombeyan Caves. It's about a 4 hour drive south of Sydney.

As we started on our journey down, the weather became even more dreadful. Rain, rain, rain. Though the waterfall would be absolutely rushing, there is no fun trekking in the middle of the rain when you don’t have a spare coat (damn laundry day!). So no more waterfalls and on to the caves we went.

And what a drive! As you get off the highway and start to weave in the small towns the landscape becomes less concrete and more country and luscious. Fields of green, cottages and a few wineries lined up the way to Wombeyan Caves Road. Paved roads soon turned to unsealed pathways leading us alongside a forest. The mist made the adventure so much more fun and eerie. We couldn’t help but get out and snap a shot.

When you drive into the Wombeyan Caves Karst Conservation Reserve you are welcomed by kangaroos, ducks and happy campers. Yes, you can camp here (and I plan on going back to do just that).

Check in at the information centre and pay for your cave tour. To do a self guided tour cost only $18 per person. We were given a gold token that acts like a key to the cave door and told that the cave should take about 45 minutes to complete.

We left the information booth and started to make our way up the hill to a bomb shelter style door. (Yes, a bomb shelter style door - super weird but it added to the sense of 'going underground').

As you open the door, its completely dark until the sensor lights slowly begin to light up the cave. Some music and a voice can be heard coming through the speakers and begins to tell you the history of the Wombeyan Caves and how they were formed. To be honest, I wasnt really paying much attention to the recordings. I kept on repeating lines from Lord of the Rings when they enter Moria. And yes, my boyfriend was looking at me like I was a weirdo, but hey, it's not everyday you can reenact scenes from your favourite movie in an ACTUAL cave!

The best thing about these caves is that you are close to the limestone formations. I've been to other caves where this was not the case, but here you are ducking, weaving, and squeezing yourself through the rock crevices on your way through the caves.

The day we went it had been raining so you could see and feel the moisture on the rock walls and floor which was really cool. The cave is also fitted with hand-railings throughout, which came in handy when I slipped down a few of the stairs (those boots were definitely not made for walking).

If you're looking for an added adventure on your drive back to Sydney, I suggest taking the dirt road back to Sydney - it's winding, it's narrow and there is a danger sign at the very beginning of it. This road takes you alongside some really picturesque scenery (if you can get over how narrow and steep and close to death you may feel). Only 4wd's should really tackle this road.

Stay Outdoors,

L x