DiNo's Travels Around Australia - 2014/2015/16/17: 9 June 2017

Today we moved a very short 53km from a very cold Mount Surprise (5 degrees this morning) to the Undara Resort. We are to have an “Undara Experience”.

The resort is in the Undara Volcanic National Park. It is a well-organized tourist venture, with plenty of on-site accommodation and a swimming pool! It is in the bush by any stretch of the imagination but even the most sophisticated adventurer can be accommodated.

090617 Guests common area at Undara.
Note the converted train carriages in the background

090617 The swimming pool at Undara Resort

We do a guided tour of the Undara Volcanic Tubes tomorrow but today we visited The Kalkani (aboriginal for “no water”) Volcanic Crater. It is about 16km from the resort. The crater walls rise about 50 metres from the surrounding countryside and, at a guess, it would be 300m across. It is well covered with trees and grass and is not visually exciting. It is there, so we had to go see it.

090617 Aerial view of Kalkani Crater.
Many thanks to an unknown photographer

We walked to the top of the crater, which provided a great view of the surrounding countryside, including a cattle station homestead. It could well be the Whitewater station, which abuts the National Park.

090617 The Track up Kalkani Crater

090617 From the track looking down on the picnic
area at Kalkani Crater

090617 Looking up the outside of Kalkani Crater

090617 Cattle station at the eastern base of Kalkani Crater

090617 Looking down into Kalkani Crater

090617 Another view looking down into the crater

The major source of the lava was the Undara Crater, which is several miles away and, now heavily eroded, is barely visible on the horizon.

Later in the afternoon we took a walk to the “Bluff Lookout”, which overlooks the resort. Again, the view was not so spectacular, because the resort area is covered in trees, just like the rest of the surrounding countryside.