Caves' school schedule winding down!

The summer months are well and truly upon us and Christmas is just around the corner... meaning day visits and school camps to the Capricorn Caves are winding down for another year.

But what a year it's been!

2010 has seen no less than 80 school groups experience all there is to offer at the Capricorn Caves; from standards including adventure caving, cathedral tours and the high ropes course, to initiatives challenges, environment presentations and our ground breaking new geo-tour.

And if you thought it was only local schools taking advantage of our state of the
art camp and lodging facilities... think again!

This year schools from as far as Gympie and Ayr have made the trek to Capricornia and word is spreading with schools from across the border now expressing interest in a Capricorn Caves experience.

This week though it's been the sixteen students from Avondale State School, west of Agnes Water, that have kept staff on their toes.

After a hearty morning schedule of adventure caving and the always popular crate climb, the students - ranging from grades 4, 5, 6 and 7 - will have the afternoon to relax before a night tour and camp fire round out their stay at the Capricorn Caves.

80 schools down, four to go... until next year that is!

Encore! Encore!

Three performances. Three sell out shows. Hundreds of satisfied guests!

In just its third year, the Capricorn Caves' Underground Opera is fast becoming one of the real highlights on Central Queensland's social calendar.

Indeed such is the growing popularity of the show that additional seating had to be supplied to cater for all the guests during the recent November shows!

"The staff had to find room for around 40 extra chairs so that was a job in itself carrying all the extra seating into the Cathedral," Cave owner Ann Augusteyn laughed.
And For three consecutive nights there wasn't an empty seat in the house ( or cave... as it were) as crowds flocked to see such classics as 'Sweeney Todd' and the 'Barber of Seville' in a somewhat surreal limestone setting.

Staff from SKAL International Capricornia were the given the VIP treatment as special guests for the evening and judging from their response, Ann believes they'll be first in line for tickets come 2011.

"They had never seen anything like it," she said.

"The majority of the guests have seen the show every year since its inception in 2008 and they keep coming back so we must be doing something right and I'm sure we'll see them all again next year."

The concerts will return again in May.

Capricorn Caves' European Cousins!

"Believe it or not the Capricorn Caves are very similar to those in Poland around 60 or 70 million years ago."

It may sound strange, but it's this fun little fact that has prompted two of Europe's leading karst and geomorphology experts to shed the winter woollies and ply their trade right here in the tropics.

Along with Associate Professor Armstrong Osborne from Sydney University, Bojan Otonicar from the Karst Research Institute in Slovenia and Andrzey Tyc from the University of Silesia in Poland have the spent the past two weeks studying various cave and karst formations at the Capricorn Caves.

As part of a joint three year study, the trio hope to shed a little more light on exactly how these magnificent chambers were formed and indeed how they'll be shaped by the elements in the future.

Professor Osborne said they were looking for caves that boast similar landscapes and features to some European caves, but in a vastly different climatic setting.

"The caves we are looking at in Poland are about 50 degrees north while the Capricorn Caves lie on the Tropic of Capricorn... so it's fair to say that Poland and Central Queensland are quite different!" he laughed.

But here is where it really gets interesting.

"Our work is based on the theory that caves were formed from water travelling from bottom to top, rather than top to bottom rather than the other way around."

Meaning that the long held belief that the caves were formed by rain water trickling through cracks and crevices and slowly dissolving the limestone could in fact be somewhat upside down.

"That's the theory so we're looking at and measuring features that might show which direction the water moved, geological structures and things like that," Professor Osborne said.

For his European counterparts, the three week sojourn is also a chance to soak up some Central Queensland sun!

"I'm enjoying the warm temperatures," Bojan said.

"It's probably very close to zero degrees in Slovenia right now so it's nice to be able work in a t-shirt!"

The trio will continue their study in Poland next June.

15 years and counting...

In 1995 a small group of Singaporean soldiers tiptoed their way coyly through the Capricorn Caves as a novel way of relaxing after completing a three week deployment in the land of Oz.

Now some 15 years later a day trip through our limestone playground almost a rite of passage for the Singaporean military, with thousands choosing to spend their few leisurely hours relaxing underground.

Indeed 2010 has seen 650 so far enjoy the wonders of the Cathedral and co. with a further thousand more expected before year's end.

And it's no surprise that owner Ann Augusteyn couldn't be happier.

"We are the only operator in Queensland that the Singaporean military choose to visit consistently every year," she said.

"It really says a lot about the quality of our staff and our facilities."

"They really enjoy coming here to see the majesty of the caves and it is truly a joy to have them and we hope to see them for many more years to come!"

FYI

Conscription in Singapore, called National Service (NS), requires all male Singaporean citizens and second-generation permanent residents who have reached the age of 18 to enroll in the military. They serve a two-year period as Full Time National Servicemen (NSFS), either in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF), or the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
When a conscript completes his full-time service, he is considered to be "operationally ready", and is thereafter known as an Operationally-Ready National Serviceman.
Op Ready National Servicemen are the equivalent of other militaries' reservists.
Each year, Op ready National Service men go through either a high-key training or a low-key training until they reach the age of 40 or 50, depending on their rank.
Singapore is currently among a list of countries with the longest military service exceeding 18 months, just behind Israel and South Korea.

The Caves Harness The Sun!

As the mercury rises and summer in the southern hemisphere descends, a spectacle unlike any other is brewing deep beneath the red Central Queensland soil.

And for a few select weeks every year staff at the Capricorn Caves perform the seemingly impossible... and harness the sun!

In times of old, the summer solstice - when the sun comes literally to a standstill in the sky - was a time for great celebration and though the times have changed, the festivities remain and the Caves plays host to one of the best.

Due to the Caves' location on the Tropic of Capricorn, the heaven's literally shine a light on one of Capricorn's biggest limestone chambers, 'The Belfry' from December to mid January.

Under a burning solstice sun, a brilliant sunbeam filters down through a vertical 14ft shaft , piercing the darkness below.

Much to the delight of the thousands that flock to the Caves each year, eager guides have indeed learned how to capture the power and intensity of this rare phenomenon, using mirrored balls and brightly coloured materials to illuminate the cave in a way rarely thought possible.

A sight that truly has to be seen to be believed!

Independence Day... with an Aussie twist!

The unfamiliar drawl of America’s Deep South has been common place around Central Queensland for some time now, with the widely acclaimed ‘People to People (P2P) Ambassador’ program in full swing for another year.

But here at the Capricorn Caves we like to go one step further and treat our American cousins to a little taste of home and what better way to do that than with our very own Independence Day celebrations.

On Sunday July 4th no less than 150 students from ‘the land of the free’ were treated to a patriotic feast of American style burgers and a stars and stripes cake ol’Barack himself would be proud of.

Following a special guided tour,cave staff – decked out in red, white and blue of course – were then treated to a moving rendition of star spangled banner... and whatever left over cake could be found in the kitchen.

For more than 20 years, P2P students from all 50 states have been making the trek to Capricorn Caves, turning a once optional cave tour into one of the true highlights of their Australian adventure.

In 2010 more than 70 coach loads – roughly 3500 P2P students – will experience the majesty of our limestone caverns, and that number is set to increase again next year.

“It’s an extremely busy time for us here at the Caves but it’s always a lot of fun,” owner Ann Augusteyn said.

“It keeps our staff on their toes but we really do look forward to these few months every year.”

Students dig new GeoTour!

It’s been nearly 400 million years in the making but on Wednesday (June 25th), the Capricorn Caves new GeoTour became an exciting reality.

While local tourism dignitaries - including Capricorn Tourism and Economic Development CEO Mary Carroll – made the trek north of Rockhampton for the official launch, it was a plucky bunch of Emmaus College students who hailed the inaugural GeoTour a success.

With formalities out of the way, the students began with a leisurely stroll… back in time a few million years of course to the Devonian Era, courtesy of our newly discovered Fossil Cave.

“Not a lot of people know that this area north of Rockhampton and around the Caves was once a shallow sea bed, much like the Great Barrier Reef,” Owner Ann Augusteyn said.

“So to finally to be able to show people some of these fossils that are millions of years old and explain how these caves were formed is very exciting; the students were just blown away.”

From here the intrepid explorers took a sharp left through one of Queensland Museums most significant geological dig sites.

The aptly named ‘Journey of Discovery’ then winds through one of the world’s oldest creek beds and finally onto the Karst for a bird’s eye of the surrounding area, stretching all the way to the Capricorn Coast.

It’s here that the students discovered the effects of rain and wind on the outer slopes of these limestone ridges, rare flora and fauna and evidence of early climate change.

“Basically it gave the students the chance to see first- hand the effects of Mother Nature on our natural environment, something they don’t get to experience in the classroom,” Ann said.

“After years of planning and hard work, the GeoTour really is a dream come true!”
Schools from as far northern New South Wales are now queuing up for their chance to step back in time at the Capricorn Caves.

“Our numbers are increasing by the day so as you can imagine the future is looking very exciting!”

Cap Caves on the world stage!

It's the largest tourism trade show in the Southern Hemisphere.

Last week more than 600 key buyers from 40 different countries descended on Adelaide for the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), all vying for a piece of Australia's $89 billion dollar tourism industry.

And for the first time ever, The Capricorn Caves were right in the middle of it!

Yes it seems after almost 400 million years in the making, our humble limestone playground is set to stamp itself as a global attraction... but its one step at a time of course.

Owner Ann Augusteyn and Manager Amanda Jennings both made the pilgrimage south for the event, and needless to say, they'll definitely be back next year.

"Some of the business contacts we made at ATE are invaluable, quite frankly," Ann said.

"We're in talks with some of the biggest operators out of the UK and Europe, Asia and the Americas and they were very impressed with what we have to offer international travelers."

"North American agents in particular seemed very eager to introduce their clients to ecotourism along the east coast of Queensland."

And that means exciting times ahead for the Capricorn Caves.

In the meantime, guides( like my good self) are frantically going over their final preparations for the launch of our new Geotour, which kicks off on the 23rd of June.

Stay tuned.

Cathedral Steals the Show at Underground Opera!

"I love anything out of the ordinary so I jumped at the chance!"

Jordin Steele is quite frank when asked about the joys of performing underground.
And while the former Rocky girl was a shining light during last weeks underground opera performance, it seems our very own Cathedral almost stole the show.

"To be able to sing, without a microphone, almost at a whisper and still be heard by everyone in the audience is a real treat."

Now in its third year, the Underground Opera is becoming one of the highlights on Central Queensland's social calendar and last weekend was no exception!

For three consecutive nights there wasn't an empty seat in the house ( or cave... as it were) as crowds flocked to see such classics as 'Sweeney Todd' and the 'Barber of Seville' in a somewhat surreal limestone setting.

For Jordin her time will now be devoted to completing her Masters Degree at QUT and the the day to day running of her own opera company Outcast Opera, aiming to give up and coming singers a helping hand.

Not bad for someone who was teaching English in Japan a few years ago!

And come November Jordin will again join forces - or voices - with the cast of Underground Opera, for another ground breaking tour, with venues ranging from old tin sheds to abandoned gold mines... and even a return visit to the Cathedral here at the Capricorn Caves.

Stay tuned!

Fun, fitness... and a little bit frightening!

Adventure caving is not for the faint hearted.

Indeed the thought of squeezing your body through caves not much bigger than your head is – for most – more a form of torture than a leisure activity.

So you’ll understand my surprise when confronted by four middle-aged women last Saturday morning, all keen to test themselves against Mother Nature.

A former Caves employee, Jodie Robb had coerced her friends - including local journalist Sophie Jackson – to join her on an expedition underground, primarily as a fun form of weekend exercise.

To make matters worse, a local camera crew recorded our every crawl, climb and curse (and I can tell you there were plenty!) as part of a new Capricorn Tourism ad campaign.

Team Sophie (as they soon became known) started out quite well, negotiating the ‘Zig Zag’ in the dark with relative ease, through the ‘Hideaway’ and on to the ‘Guillotine’.

Finally, with confidence levels relatively high, I introduced the girls to one of the jewels in our caving crown – ‘The Whales Belly’.
The ‘Belly’ is, in essence, a hollow rock with a tight way in… and an even tighter way out!

“You are kidding me!” was Sophie’s initial response (edited for some of our younger readers).

“The trick is,” I explained, “to get your feet up on the ledge to the right, put your arms together like you’re diving through so your shoulders and nice and small, and wiggle your way to freedom!”

“That easy eh?” she replied, without a hint of sarcasm.
But after much sweating, and almost as much swearing, she was through.

After a relaxing walk through the Cathedral, Team Sophie were on the home stretch of their first adventure caving experience.

“That was incredible,” she said during our well- earned drinks break.

“I seriously thought we were going to get stuck during some of them… but it’s surprising what you can fit through if you keep wiggling and twisting!”

Couldn’t of said it better myself Sophie.

GEO DREAM TO BECOME REALITY

A wiser man than me once said, “It’s not what you look at, it’s what you see”, and nowhere is that quaint little quote more poignant than right here at the Capricorn Caves.

What looks like vacant pasture behind our humble kiosk will soon be home to a state of the art geo tourism precinct…and what’s more, Kevin Rudd has agreed to foot half the bill!

As part of its’ TQUAL funding program, the Federal Government has opened its’ cheque book to the tune of $100, 000, matching the money put up by owner Ann Augusteyn.

Federal Member for Capricornia Kirsten Livermore joined a host of the region’s tourism and local government dignitaries for the official announcement last week; and what started as a dream for we simple cave dwellers will soon become an exciting reality.

But the new precinct – which is scheduled to be completed by year’s end - is just the beginning.

From June, visitors to the Caves will be able to take a literal look back in time as apart of a new geo tour, showcasing marine fossils dating back millions of years to the Devonian era.

The interactive tour will also feature an adventure element for those wanting to get down and dirty.

Paleontologists from the Queensland Museum discovered the remains of mega fauna during a recent dig in the ‘Colloseum Cave’, and soon these ancient secrets – for so long known only to a few - will be on show for all to see.

What better way to start our weekly blog here at the caves than with so many exciting developments on the horizon… and a big wad of Kevin’s cash in our pocket!

Stay tuned!