Tasmania: Riches in mountains, of crystal, metal and underground beauty.
We are still in the north-west corner and in Zeehan we enter the West Coast Heritage Centre. It is a lot bigger than we had just imagined. In addition to telling about the history of mining in the area, there is a huge exhibition of metals and minerals in all shades of the world. Tasmania is apparently rich in this.
The museum stretches quite far down the street. There is a theatre, a school for geology and metallurgy, an exhibition of trains, military, nursing equipment and much more. We are very impressed, especially by the display of the different minerals.
We drive on to Strahan. It is a very pleasant town, and down by the water we go for a little walk. We can hear sounds, smell fresh wood and are attracted by the atmosphere. There is an open house and free entry for a demonstration of an old sawmill - Morrison's Huon Pine Sawmill.
In the adjacent shop you can buy beautiful wooden items. It is a pity that we cannot take an extra suitcase home.
Queenstown is another old mining town, just outside the town is one of the first copper mines. It is no longer active and there is water at the bottom of the excavation. Quite close to there is horsetail fall. A nice little waterfall.
The winding roads continue through two national parks. Trees as far as the eye can see.
It's a nice walk to Nelson Falls, where we can really see the beautiful nature on the way. We don't see any animals, but they are probably hiding in the wilderness. It is just before we expect to meet both dinosaurs and flying lizards in the dense primeval forest.
At a roundabout that we are actually going to cross, there is a sign that catches Sus' attention.
King Solomon's Cave stands there.
Johnny Johnny… do a lap in the roundabout, we're going to have to change direction. As said so done. The course is set towards the cave, without us knowing what awaits us. We arrive in good time for the next guided tour - 90 minutes waiting time. But on a nature trail around the area, the waiting time is getting longer.
Ferns that are bigger than a person. So big that they almost look like palm trees.
The last time we walked in withered leaves, a Tiger Snake surprised us, so now we're on the lookout. However, we only find small lizards in the forest floor, so it's a peaceful walk between giant trees and ferns.
Back at the meeting point, the guide comes out and collects the group. We walk row by row through the narrow passages and are careful not to touch anything.
Many thousands of years old dust is everywhere. The speed of how fast they grow depends on how the water now happens to be dripping. Some are 2,000 years old - other stalactites may take 200,000 years to achieve the shape we see now.
It is difficult to take great photos that do the cave justice - but we try our best. The cave is about 100 meters long and has lights set up that really highlight the beautiful formations. Some hang like pipes from the ceiling and others hang like curtains in large flakes and resemble natural beeswax boards.
