Chillagoe Natural Features.

The Chillagoe area has an abundance of Natural Geologic Formations that have formed over 100's of millions of years. Most of this area was once under a shallow sea and all the limestone formations were once coral formations. During the Cave Tours that we participated in, marine fossils are clearly evident in the cave walls.

Two unusual Native Deciduous Trees are found among the limestone outcrops at Balancing Rocks. The tree on the left with the bulbous trunk is a Kurrajong and on the right is a Helicopter Tree, this is named after the shape of the seeds that drop with two leaves similar to the blades of a helicopter. The trunk of the Helicopter Tree is a shiny golden colour.

Noel at Balancing Rocks.

Judy at Balancing Rocks

Three more Helicopter Trees near Balancing Rocks.

Another unusual rock formation at Balancing Rocks.

One of the Stalactite formations in The Royal Arch Caves, some say this resembles an elephant!

The limestone rock outcrop that house The Royal Arch Caves. It took us 1.5 hours to travel through this cave system of very large caverns. The cave system was not electrically lit, this proved difficult for photography.

This Aboriginal Art is located at Mungana, about 12 km from Chillagoe. A small town and a mine once existed at Mungana.

The Archways is a self guided tour area and is also located at Mungana. This is well worth a wander around.

The Archways limestone.

More from The Archways. Jude is holding this formation from slipping.

Sunlight entering a cavern at The Archways.

Looking towards The Smelter Smoke Stack from The Trezkinn Caves.

The Trezkinn Cave is all lit electrically, I managed some reasonable photographs here.

The Stalactites are quite spectacular in The Trezkinn Cave.

The camera was firing non stop in The Trezkinn Cave.

Still more.

Still more.

That's it folks!

Chillagoe

During our previous visit to the 'Tablelands' region we made a one day visit to Chillagoe. At that time we made ourselves a promise to return to the town for a longer stay over and discover all that the region has to offer the visitor.

Chillagoe is reached by travelling about 140 km on The Burke Development Road from Mareeba. This road is also known as The Wheelbarrow Way because annually in May there is a wheelbarrow race from Mareeba to Chillagoe.

The old vault from the Bank of Australia remains in town to this day. With 'The Hub" in the background.

The Hub, as it's name suggests, is the central point for the town. Functions performed here include, Centrelink, Post Office, Commonwealth Bank, Library, Tourism Office.

Chillagoe Guest House. This building is across the road from The PO Hotel, I would assume it is the original Post Office.

The largest of two Pubs in town.

This is the only place in town to restock the pantry.

We set up camp in The Chillagoe Rodeo Grounds. Every afternoon, about 4 PM, we would see clouds like these roll in from the East.

Our camp with our neighbours Richard and Gwen from Kyogle.

Looking over the Amenities Donga and the Rodeo Facilities towards the township. Hot water for the showers was via a "Donkey", that the campers had to fire up themselves.

From the 'Smelter Site' this is the view over The Metallic Hills with the Featherbed Range on the far side of The Walsh River Valley.

All that remains of the Copper Smelter at Chillagoe, three smoke stacks in a very sad state and some rusty metal. This smelter was the 'life blood' of the region for many years.

Tom Prior with one of his restored Fords, a Shelby Mustang. Tom is a life time resident of Chillagoe, he has many photographs of the early days in the region. We spent about two hours listening to Tom and viewing all the cars and trucks in his stable. Tom is also the BP Agent in town, his fuel prices are about ten cents cheaper than the opposition in town.