Category Archives: Caves

Walking the Fern Glade Track, Marakoopa Cave

Photograph of creek flowing under ferns and over mossy stones.

The Fern Glade Track is a short walk through rainforest near Mole Creek, Tasmania, Australia. It follows Marakoopa Creek to the mouth of Marakoopa Cave.

The Fern Glade at Marakoopa Cave should not be confused with the Fern Glade Great Short Walk along the Emu River in Burnie, the Fern Glade at Fern Tree on Mount Wellington or the Ferndene fern glade in the Dial Range, Penguin.

Getting there

The Fern Glade Track lies within the Mole Creek Karst National Park, so visitors will need a current National Parks Pass or to buy a ticket for the Marakoopa Cave tour.

To reach the start of the walk, we drove along Liena Road, then turned south onto Mayberry Road and followed it to the Marakoopa Cave ticket office. A car park here gave access to the north end of the Fern Glade Track. Another 500 metres beyond that was the car park for Marakoopa Cave itself, and the south end of the track. All roads and car parks were sealed.

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Walking in Honeycomb Cave, Mole Creek

The karst landscape of Tasmania’s Mole Creek area is famed for its caves. One of the most accessible is Honeycomb Cave.

Caves are not safe places, and the open nature of Honeycomb Cave can be deceptive.  In June 2015 a visitor to Honeycomb Cave suffered a serious fall.  Watch the ground and do not step anywhere you cannot see clearly.  Do not go out of sight of daylight if you are not a trained and equipped caver.

Getting there

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Walking to Junee Cave

Photograph of small river flowing out of cave mouth.

In March 2015 The Parks & Wildlife Service Tasmania reported that this track was closed due to damage to the bridge at the start of the walk. Since then, Environment Tasmania has built a new track to make it accessible again.

Junee Cave is a short distance from the town of Maydena, Tasmania, Australia. While only trained cave divers should enter the cave, all can enjoy a short walk along the Junee River to the cave mouth.

Getting there

The road to Maydena was easy to find, although the Gordon River Road beyond Westerway wound around a lot. From Maydena, Junee Road branched north across the Tyrenna River. This soon turned into a single-lane unsealed road. This kept fairly level and was no trouble for a two-wheel-drive car. Unfortunately it stayed level by winding tightly around the hills. It would not admit large vehicles, or drivers concerned finding a vehicle driving out as they drove in, and possibly needing to reverse to make room for passing.

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Walking in Chauncy Vale

Cave with sloping rock pillar

The Chauncy Vale Wildlife Sanctuary is a private conservation area in Tasmania. It was home to author Nan Chauncy. Her best-known book, They Found a Cave, features the cave formations of Chauncy Vale.

Getting There

Drive to Bagdad on the Midland Highway, then turn east onto Chauncy Vale Road and follow it to Chauncy Vale. Most of Chauncy Vale Road is unsealed, but it is only a few kilometres from the highway.

The Chauncy Vale – Events page warns that the vale is closed on days of total fire ban. To see if a ban is in place, check the Tasmanian Fire Service – Fire Bans & Permits page.

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