100 Things To Do You’ve Never Heard Of #068 Walk among dolomites in Hasting Caves

Visit the Hasting Caves thought to be 40 million years of age.

They’re estimated to have been untouched for 40 million years, but in 1917 timber workers finally stumbled upon the Hastings Caves in southern Tasmania.

Newdegate Cave, named for a former Tasmanian governor, is one of only two dolomite caves in Australia and the largest tourist cave in the country. Inspect the huge chambers and unique fauna with a guided tour, operating several times a day with remarkable explanations of the cave’s geology.

Pay special mind to Titania’s Palace – 5km from the cave you can luxuriate in a 28-degree thermal pool fed by clear spring water. Two walking tracks begin near the pool, one leading to two creeks – one warm, the other cold.

You can purchase tickets for cave tours at the Visitors Centre, close to the pool. A short walk from the car park through wonderfully grown rainforest ends at the cave.

WHERE // Hastings Caves are 125km south of Hobart, Tasmania.

DID YOU KNOW? // Caves are not the lifeless places one might expect; more than 40 species have been discovered in Newdegate Cave, some very strange looking and still unclassified.