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Words: Jeremy BourkeProducer: Louise Starkey
Three remarkable geological wonders in northern Queensland
From one of the longest single-source lava tubes on the planet to a hidden sandstone oasis, there are some remarkable geological wonders to explore in North Queensland’s Undara Volcanic National Park. 
Here are three of the best. 
Mt Undara is no Vesuvius or Krakatoa, but this prehistoric pimple has left its mark. An eruption 190,000 years ago released a flow that created one of the longest single-source lava tubes in the world.
Mt Undara
The lava tubes are accessible only through Undara Experience, a bush resort beside the national park 260km southwest of Cairns. The tubes' roof has collapsed in many places, with the longest section, the 1.3km Bayliss Cave, being inaccessible.
The tubes are home to bats and pythons, as well as rainforest thriving in collapsed sections below the plain, protected from the fires that dictate the savannah's ecology.
Video: YouTube | Undara Experience
Cobbold Gorge, another savannah geological phenomenon 225km to the southwest, is more easily accessible.
Cobbold Gorge
Cobbold is Queensland's youngest gorge, only 10,000 years old, during which time nature has been able to carve out a squiggling fissure on the sandstone that's barely 2m wide in places along its 850m length.
Video: YouTube | Into The Wild Films
Rainfall is estimated to take 30 years to seep through the porous sandstone into the creek, and subsequently the water level never drops. Fascinating residents include golden orb spiders, St Andrew's cross spiders and saw-sell turtles.
Video: YouTube | Into The Wild Films
Talaroo Hot Springs, an Ewamian enterprise about halfway between Cobbold and Undara, is one of only two terraced hot springs in Australia.
Talaroo Hot Springs
Visit Talaroo with an Ewamian guide for an understanding of its cultural and scientific significance.
Video: YouTube | Talaroo Hot Springs
Then take up the option of soaking in the large communal pool or in one of several smaller pools for a lovely spa de deux.
Video: YouTube | Talaroo Hot Springs
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