Jenolan Caves

River Cave

Useful Information

Location:	182 km west of Sydney
Open:	All year Mon-Fri 13:15, Sat, Sun 10, 13:15. Additional tours during NSW school holidays and on some long weekends. [2009]
Fee:	Adults AUD 40. [2009]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	LED Lighting
Dimension:	L=20,000 m, VR=200 m, A=790 m asl, T=16 °C.
Guided tours:	D=2 h, St=1,298.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	John Dunkley (2007): Jenolan Caves: Guides, Guests & Grottoes. Australian Speleological Federation 2007
Address:	Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust, P.O.Box 1495, Bathurst. NSW 2795. Littlebourne St, Kelso (Bathurst) NSW 2795, Tel: (063) 32 5888 (office), Fax: (063) 32 9399 Jenolan Caves, Jenolan Caves. NSW 2790, Phone: (063) 59 3311, Fax: (063) 59 3307
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1903	discovered by James Carvosso Wiburd and J. Edwards.
1923	concrete bridge across River Styx built.

Description

River Cave has the largest numbers of steps of all tours at Jenolan and so it is dubbed the most strenuous cave tour. 1,298 steps equal a height difference of about 120 m which is ascended and descended during the tour, fortunately not at once. A near vertical ladder is also part of the tours, women should think about wearing jeans, although the male participants would probably enjoy a short skirt.

As the name suggests, it goes down to the lowest level of the cave system, the active river passage level. The cave river is named River Styx and until 1923 it was crossed by a small boat, until the concrete bridge was built. There are various pools, huge stalagmites named the Minaret and the Grand Column, and the huge Queen's Canopy.