The kids were awake and out motor biking before we even got out of bed, so we went out and joined them to have a few more hours before we piled into the car for the day’s activity. The journey to Jenolan Caves took us past incredible lookouts, like Mount Victoria’s view of the surrounding Blue Mountains, which I enjoyed with Byron snoozed. Everyone got a little silly after being in the car for a while, and Byron’s dad drove on the other side of the road for a bit “just to make us more comfortable”, which became a joke the rest of the trip. The road going down the mountains to the caves was the most terrifying road I’ve ever been on. It’s situated right on the edge of the cliff, winds around, and is only wide enough for one car. This meant that every turn we made around the cliff (and there were many), we had to pray there wasn’t another car coming the other way and have to squeeze past. Not only was it just small compact cars using this road, but the massive tour buses also. It’s possible we lost a few years off our lives from the stress that road caused.
Finally we made it down safely and soon were climbing up the carved steps (910 in total) leading us into the mouth of the Lucas Cave. To our relief, we didn’t see any bats, but we were accompanied by crying babies, smelly tourists, and camera flashes to the eye. However, the beautiful stalactites (c=ceiling) and stalagmites (g=ground) formed from crystals and marine fossils were stunning. Apparently tourists had been coming here since the 1900s with only candles for light and long dresses to slide around in the dark in. We tried to find a different road to take back out of the caves, but it turned out that the only other way was even more dangerous. Luckily we survived the terrifying road and made it home in time for dinner.
