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!