THE LONGEST flow from a single volcano ever known to have occurred on the planet happened about 190,000 years ago in Australia at a place now called Undara.
Situated on the McBride Volcanic Province, Undara Volcanic National Park is home to the most amazing remnant from that time, the Undara Lava Tubes. The tubes were formed when a major volcano erupted, its molten lava flowing down a dry river bed. As the top layer quickly cooled and crusted, the fiery lava below continued to flow through the tubes, taking it further and further from the volcano.
As the eruption stopped, the lava drained out of the tubes leaving a series of long, hollow tunnels. Ancient roof collapses created deep, dark and moist depressions where fertile pockets of rainforest can now be seen. Rainforest plants and animals thrive in this environment, and each tube offers a rare insight into this unusual geological wonder.
The word Undara means “a long way” in the aboriginal language, and one of the lava flows from Undara extends 160km, making it the longest lava flow from a single volcano on Earth. The tubes wind through the bush and can only be accessed through Undara Experience.
Neither hotel nor resort, the Undara Experience is a wilderness experience. Guests revisit a bygone era with genuine outback hospitality and antique railway carriages that have been beautifully restored and used for accommodation (with en suites), restaurant and guest facilities. A fantastic roof covers the restaurant and bar area, and a sail has been erected over the Wilderness Lodge. The Swag Tent Village has powered van sites as well as camping sites.
At night, a campfire crackles nearby - after dinner is the perfect time to take part in fireside tales and singalongs. Each morning, guests can enjoy a true Aussie breakfast surrounded by the birds and the bush at the Ringers’ Camp.
Tours from the Lodge include full, half-day and two-hour lava tube tours and the Wildlife at Sunset Tour. Undara Experience Savannah Guides take all the guided tours on this restricted access National Park.
Visitor facilities include pool, bushwalks, pool table, nightly campfire entertainment, abundant wildlife, licensed bistro and a reading room.
A very special event on the Undara calendar is Opera in the Outback, to be staged on October 19 and October 20. Indulge your senses with the unusual combination of relaxed bush camping and classical opera. If Outback Country Rock and Blues is more your scene, make Undara your headquarters from May 11 to 13.
Undara Experience is an Australian Tourism Award winner; when you visit, you’ll see why.
Access to Undara is improving all the time - there’s now only 4km of gravel left between the highway and Undara.
Something special that you can see only in summer at Undara ... thousands of micro insect-eating bats fly out from inside lava tubes just after sunset. Brown tree snakes, harmless to humans, hang from the entrance of the tubes hoping to capture the bats for dinner. This extraordinary sight can be seen only on Undara’s famous Wildlife at Sunset Tour, which leaves from the Lodge daily at 5.00pm.
