Naracoorte Things to Do

My thanks to MelZ1974, without whose VT tips I would never have come here.

The caves at Naracoorte have been studied for some time. They are well researched and well documented, but thinly staffed, so they allow you to wander alone through some of the caves. To see the other caves requires ou to go on scheduled tours. If you're unlucky, like I was, you will arrive one minute after the last one's departure.

Adjacent to the caves is a small but very interesting facility where they exhibit and work with fossils. Using the remains found inside the caves, they have managed to create animated, life-sized models of extinct animals. One has only been extinct since 1935, but most of the rest perished centuries ago. This was quite an interesting place to look around.

The whole reason these caves are of such intense scientific scrutny is that the mouth of the cave is in its roof, making for a large hole in the ground. Throughout history and prehistory, animals would occasionally fall into the cave, sheltering their remains so that they were more or less preserved intact or close enough to intact for study. Quite a few of the animals are the only representative of their species known to exist.

The Naracoorte Swimming lake is a huge chlorinated outdoor swimming pool open to residents and visitors free of charge and open during Summer months. The pool is completely fenced and has lifeguards on duty during busy days. Barbecue facilities are also available along with plenty of shade and a short walk from the caravan park.

Another tour you can do, is not exactly into a cave itself (as its inhabited during the day) but into a centre called the Teleview Centre where you can view the thousands of Bent Wing Bats in infra red on a tv screen and have a guide tell you all about them.
By night, if you know where the entrance to the cave is, you can sit outside the fence and watch the bats come out in their hundreds, hour after hour...

No visit to Naracoorte is complete without a visit to some of the World Heritage listed Caves.
There are the tourist caves like the Self Guided Wet Cave, Alexandria Cave (a 30 minute guided visit) and Victoria Fossil cave, and other caves like Stick Tomato cave and Blackberry cave designated as adventure caves for the more adventurous. There are also caves for extended adventure caving too, exploring the depths.

There are also several walking trails around the caves area.

Booking number for adventure caving: (08) 8762 2340 or email: naracoortecaves@saugov.sa.gov.au

While you're at the caves, this is well worth a visit. A scene from 200,000 years ago has been attempted to be recreated. There are life size, computer animated models of 12 of the Megafauna (extinct animals which once existed in the region) such as the giant wombat.

Naracoorte has a public swimming lake in the heart of town, wich is an exelant way to cool down on a hot summers day .
The lake has a toddler pool and watered grassed lawns, also a kiosk and a life guard on duty .
The lake is open every day fromDecember to March and is FREE ENTRY

The Naracoorte caves are situated 15km south east of the town. The caves have received world heritage listing due to the extensive fossil deposits of extinct mega fauna. The fossils are between 15,000 and 300,000 years old. These fossil beds can be viewed in guided tours of the victoria fossil cave .