Undara Lava Tubes
Ever been inside a lava tube? I took this shot on our Outback road trip last year looking out of tube at Undara where a section of the roof has collapsed. Semi evergreen vine thicket grows in the moist sheltered environment provided by the tubes. This is quite a contrast to the seasonally dry gulf savanna county above the lava tubes.
A reasonably rare phenomenon to be able to walk through intact lava tubes. The tubes at Undara are regarded as among the largest and longest on the planet. Considered the world's longest lava flow from a single volcano it was created about 190,000 years ago when a staggering 23 cubic kilometers of lava flowed into a dry river bed and kept flowing for 160km. The top, outer-layer cooled and formed a crust, while the molten lava below drained outwards, leaving behind a series of hollow tubes. Undara is in the Far North of Queensland in Australia.
If you would like to learn a little bit more about my background in photography you can read the interview @photofeed did with me here.
Robert Downie
Love Life, Love Photography
All images in this post were taken by and remain the Copyright of Robert Downie - http://www.robertdowniephotography.com
Never been in a lava tube but it looks like some place I wouldn't mind checking out. There's a bit of a storybook hidden valley look about this bit :)
I've been to Undara and to the tube in which you took this (Or one that looked very similar). It's an amazing place. We camped out for a few days after leaving Cairns and really enjoyed it. They do a really call night walk with a guide which was very cool also. Informative. We're doing a road trip in 2021, Adelaide to FNQ, and have plans to go back to Undara. I can assure you my photo will look nothing like yours, as in not as good. :)
It's a cool place. I wish you could do your own tours there (perhaps after taking a short course or something) as it hard to be there at the right time to take photos which makes it difficult. They say has to to with the levels of CO2 there but really its just the deal they struck with QNPS to hand over the cattle property into a national park in return for exclusive tour rights.
Yes, it's all fairly regulatwd and access is not freely given. A shame for photographers like you I guess. Still, you got a great shot. When were you there? Was the road all bitumen? When I went it was not.
I cant remember but I think it was into the little tourist where we camped. We did about 14k km so the roads are all a bit of a blur as the months go past.
Oh yeah, 14,000km would certainly blur ones memory. Must have been an epic trip!
Life is one epic trip ;-)
Sure is.
How are you finding steem these days? Do you think its past peak despair ?
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