Cutta Cutta Cave is in a metamorphosed limestone, one of many in the region but the only one open for inspection. It is about 400m long but only the first 250m are open for inspection - safety constraints particularly as further in the cave, you have to progress by crawling. It is a dry cave however there are the normal stalactites and stalagmites. In the wet season the cave fills with water as the water table rises but within a few days the water can recede. The wet season is the only time the "mites" and "tites" grow. Given this constraint, they may grow less than a mm per year. There are, nonetheless, some spectacular sights in the caves. We were accompanied by several bats. The cave is well presented and, for the majority of the 250m, there are steel grated pathways with handrails.
We are looking forward to spending a few days here if the Katherine River reproduces scenery like we have seen as we crossed the river to get to our camping ground. The park looks pretty swish.
Trivia of the day: Duplication of a word in the aboriginal language means "many". Cutta means "stars" so the cave name means many stars and relates to the the reflection of light from the many crystals of calcium carbonate (calcite) which adorn the "mites" and the "tites". Also Wagga Wagga means "many crows". We didn't know that - hope it's correct!
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| 230514 The walk into Cutta Cutta Cave near Katherine |
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| 230514 Calcite crystals reflecting light - Cutta Cutta Cave near Katherine |
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| 230514 Stalactites in Cutta Cutta Cave near Katherine |
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| 230514 A judiciously placed light creates a face in Cutta Cutta Cave. One might call this a "rock face" |
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| 230514 A spectacular stalactite in Cutta Cutta Cave near Katherine |
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| 230514 A very pleasant caravan park at Katherine |
Awesome!!
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