Undara Volcanic National Park

Two of us enjoyed both-tours on 28 September, Wind Tunnel tour and Sunset tour.

The adventurous Wind Tunnel Tour was with very knowledgeable tour guide Brett. Unlike the Archway tour on boardwalk, this is more physical accessing the tunnel, scrambling over rocks with steep descends at times.

Inside of the tunnel formed 190,000 years back was marvellous; Brett explained the life cycle of insects-bats-snakes living in the tunnel.

We did not see any wildlife inside the tunnel, except for a skeleton of a kangaroo lying on a corner of the tunnel floor.

We were to visit Undara in April, but it wasn’t possible as the site was closed due to flooding; Brett noted that this year (2023) the rains were exceptionally heavy, 2500mm during the season where normally it was around 400mm.

Brett on our wayback explained the history of how two privately owned lands acquired by the government to establish the national park in 1990 as it stands today. One owner of the original land negotiated to run the business of Undara Lodge for visitors until change hands last year end of the permit period (now managed by Discovery Parks).

Unfortunately we did not have much luck seeing many wildlife (they appeared to have taken a day-off, hahaha) during the Sunset tour, however we enjoyed the snacks and champagne provided. Our tour guide David was knowledgeable although only three weeks at this place.

Following the Sunset tour we had our dinner at the restaurant; Barramundi fish with steamed vegetables was fantastic; very happy with the services at the restaurant.

We stayed two nights in a railway carriage; beautifully converted to living accommodation with ensuite; very thoughtfully designed. However it is our view that some improvements may be needed to the facilities in the carriage.

We also immensely enjoyed the Bush Breakfast on the same day; fascinated by toasting bread on real fire; never experienced that before. And bush-tea and coffee prepared by very talented young Harvey. We also had the opportunity to chat with the very experienced Manager of the Undara Discovery who was at the breakfast, who noted that there’s lots of improvements are in the pipeline over the next 10 years.

The map we received on the walking trails around the lodge isn’t great. The trails are colour-coded on the map; these are expected to be identified on the trails with colour-coded triangles installed on to trees/ rocks; but they aren’t always; either colours are faded away or triangles aren’t there at all. We went to the Bluff; we came back to the lodge on a different route as we inadvertently missed the turn to the original route.

We also visited Kalkani crater; approx 7km on gravel road to the picnic area from the sealed road, approximately 500m to the top and 2km around the rim of the crater. The 7km gravel road wasn’t in good condition for cars, appeared not graded for some time, heavily-corrugated surface.

We must make a note of Michelle, who we talked with when we made the booking; very helpful and knowledgeable (while the website wasn’t). We as residents of QLD received a discount on accommodation - thanks Michelle.

A beautiful and ancient place lots of hiking trails. Didn’t stay at Discovery because choosing to give my money to local small business rather than investment groups to fund others. Not happy about having to pay for a tour to Discovery Undara Experience which monopolises on the experience however it was necessary for safety apparently. Guide was informative however wasn’t open to questions and glossed over and minimised First Nations genocide history and then blamed them for not retaining knowledge. Suggested we know better now with science compared to their spiritual dream time stories albeit Qld is full of spiritual religious Christian’s who intelligently follow their own Dreamtime stories! There was a small film crew on tour doing a brochure n video for Discovery so I’d think today they would want to acknowledge using correct terminology rather than minimising language but truth is always harder to present and better to cotton wool genocide n murder and displacement and theft. A well performed tour. If you have a family it’s costly, I paid $60 for Wind Tunnel and some pay a $100 which if I had a family I’d skip and look at others pics and do the walks instead. Nice well marked tracks, short and long eg Rosella Loop which was really good walk lots of views n diversity across landscapes and not hard. Guide said can do it in 6-7 hours, Parks n Wildlife have it as 4-6, online experienced hikers said 3-4, i did it in 3.5 with starting the Bluff walk anticlockwise then onto the old hut track then onto the Rosella clockwise ending at Atkinsons lookout which I had done 2 days earlier which is then a short walk back to start. Do the crater walk as well it’s in your left as you drive from turn off however it is an ungraded 7km road with serious corrugating which I did besides being in my 2wd Hyundai slowly in, fast out lol 😂 I would like to see some grading or gravelling of that road but obviously Discovery don’t own that and Parks N Wildlife do, they need to improve it to align with the rest of the Undara Experience. I didn’t stay there, I didn’t buy anything there I’m over large companies taking over small business. It would be great if more employment opportunities were afforded to the descendants of the First Nations from this region however due to QLDs treatment of them in the past as he put it “dispersed” and the overt racism by many Australians they would be better to start their own corporations and take full control and ownership like in many places in NT. Take only what you need give more than you get!

Undara Experience was a remarkable place, from the short walk up to the top of the crater to the thrilling exploration of the large and beautiful lava tubes, this is an awe-inspiring destination that is not to be missed.

The guided tours were our favourite, we recommend booking a sunset tour, followed by a morning tour to the archway tube, both easily accessible from the park.

Our guide was fantastic, with exceptional knowledge and enthusiasm, making our tour a unique experience.

The Undara settlement is a perfect place to unwind and reconnect with nature, with bushwalks to extinct volcanoes and small swimming pool available for use.

All in all, I highly recommend visiting Undara Experience, which has been well managed and kept clean, with great tours and attractive facilities for an authentic outback experience!

alex

We stayed 2 nights at the Undara Experience in a converted railway carriage. The Windtunnel Tour was well organised and very informative.

Fantastic experience!!! We tried to get a tour but it was fully booked, at the last minute we heard that there was a cancellation so we go a tour in the end!!! Thanks 😊 to the staff, for they were lovely, helpful and accommodating. We learned so much about how the tubes formed, the animals, vegetation and much more!!! The guide , Andrew was very knowledgeable and talented!!! It was very well planned and was safe. We did the Archway tour.

What a wonderful place. We booked late and got a quad tent. Clean tidy and comfortable. The guide to the lava tubes was amazing with so much information about the whole area and tubes. The dinners were absolutely fantastic, quick and served in a great area. The bush breakfast is worth the fun ( keeping your food on the plate before the kookaburras steal it). Great for the kids and anyone who has never experienced a real Billy tea. Would thoroughly recommend this for anyone. Great place for kids and a great place to get them unplugged.

A must do in the area but book ahead.! There are 3 tours you can do, one is easy and then 2 more demanding and challenging. (Not to hard, but unlevel rock hops.)
The wind tunnel tour was great.
Guide was very informative.
Tubes were great.
They have a dinning amphitheatre type area with bar. A bit expensive, 2 bangas with mash was $32. (I expected a bit more banga for that...)
The live entertainment was great.!
Camping, glamping and cabins for accommodation. Great stay.
Staff were good, but under the pump in peak times.

Very interesting tour and enjoyed our stay at the van park , we managed to survive with limited internet and no phone and was a very quiet camp, Weather lovely , warm nights , days warmer, the lava tubes are amazing and great to see no rubbish and being kept clean and managed well. Happy to see the visitor numbers down and people not touching and destroying the tubes and area.

The geological history of the lava tubes is fascinating. You will be awestruck by the formations.
I found out about this place by chance and the Qld government should really do more to promote it.
You cannot self tour so make sure you book a guided tour with a Savannah guide through Undara Experience. Well worth it!

My mate and I absolutely loved this tour. It was totally amazing to see how big the lava tubes are. I would recommend this to anybody who is ok with walking over and around large rocks. We went through Bedrock Caravan park. Our guides name was David, he was very knowledgeable.

OMG what an fantastic experience we had here. The guide Jason gave us a private tour of the lsva tubes and filled our heads with all wonderful knowledge of how they were formed. We had a great half day tour and I encourage anyone if they have tje time to go and explore them.

Undara settlement (Undara Experience) was amazingly good. Eveything you need is there such as: accommodation, dining, small swimming pool, tours, bush walks, barbecue areas, etc. No tv, internet access limited to the restaurant/ reception area.

A short 600 metre walk from the car park up to the top. Then just under 2km walk around the rim. This was a great walk around the rim of the crater. Views for kilometres with several extinct volcanoes in the distance. Information boards around the rim explain the different types of volcanoes

What a romantic night at nice glamping. From this park, we learn more about history and culture, we learn about geology, and learn about savana nature of Australia. I remember first time I came here with my friend than we feel so familiar at the first time we arrived. After arrived, we enjoy the welcome drinks and get more info about the facilities around national park and a short itinerary for our 3 days and 2 nights visiting there. I also remember that today is my friend birthday so I told our guide to make a surprise to her. At the evening we are invited to the savanas near our camp then suddenly we were surprise when a bonfire light lit up from the small park that sorrounded by wooden seat. At the same time we here a nice acustic guitar sound says happy Birthday and followed by us. What a wonderful and special selebration. The next day we visit the Lava Tube then the afternoon hike the highest Hill there than waiting for sunset at the savana. We went here from Cairns to Port Douglas, than to Atherton before to Undara. This park is good for kids and specially for a couple. In the last day, they serve us for OZ Classic breakfast at the savana Jungle. They do Traditional cooking to prepare coffee and bread. We were enjoy this trip.

Booked last minute to get on a Lava Tubes tour, worth every cent! The tour guide provided interesting and informative facts about the volcanic region and all care was taken to ensure our safety and comfort during the 2 hour tour. Saw microbats and a Mareeba Rock Wallaby which made our day. The bar had a large range of cool refreshing drinks to enjoy after the tour.

Most facinating experience I have had. Nice walks and great accommodation of all types. We stayed in the railway carriages and visited two of the lava tubes.

Undara Volcanic National Park in Queensland, Australia, is unique for its impressive lava tube system, one of the longest in the world. Formed around 190,000 years ago by volcanic activity, these tubes are the result of lava flows from the Undara Volcano. The lava tubes are a natural wonder, with some stretching for over 160 kilometers.

Undara is home to various lava tube caves, and visitors can explore them on guided tours. The tubes create a subterranean environment with unique geological features, including impressive formations and microbat colonies.

The park also offers a diverse landscape with savannah woodlands, crater-like formations, and opportunities for wildlife viewing. Undara provides a distinctive combination of geological significance and natural beauty, making it a special destination for those interested in earth sciences and the outdoors.

Absolutely great experience, everyone was very pleasant and helpful, the meals were great and the prices were reasonable. Dining in the restored railway carriages was a nice touch. We’ll get back again for sure.

This is a National Park! The reviews for this place are actually for the Undara experience which costs $70 per person to take you to the lava tubes which should be free to get to on your own as they are in a national park!! My advice, get lost on the roads after visiting the crater and stumble across the lava tubes on your own! Saves you $70+ and you can go without 20 strangers with you! Beautiful but absolutely was not about to pay that much for it and you shouldn’t either.

Go to Bedrock Village- by far the best tour& best guide - ask for Jason!
How awesome is a tunnel/ cave melted into or out of rock by Lava!