Naracoorte Caves National Park
School Activities
The Naracoorte Caves is a unique destination for schools, able to cater for the short school excursion or the weeklong school camp. We offer a range of educational tours covering World Heritage values, geology, cave science, palaeontology and research, bats and their biology and tourism. Following are some of our options, but we are happy to design experiences to fulfil curriculum requirements.
Victoria Fossil Cave
This cave is world famous for its extensive fossil deposits and is central to the World Heritage status of the Naracoorte Caves. World Heritage listing is an international recognition of the areas outstanding value as an example of the world’s natural and cultural heritage. The remarkable scientific value of the Naracoorte Caves' deposits comes from the fact that it is not a single deposit, but a series of deposits, which are likely to be of different ages. Contained within these deposits are the remains of many species of extinct animals, which were once an important part of the Australian fauna. Of the many sites at the Naracoorte Caves, it is the Fossil Chamber in the Victoria Fossil Cave, which is the largest, most well known and the most extensively studied. The study of fossil assemblages gives us a unique window on the climate, vegetation and environment of the time when these animals lived, as well as a better understanding of the evolution of the Australian fauna. Much of the tour is spent at the largest of the fossil deposits, discussing the accumulation of the bones in the caves, excavation techniques, current research and World Heritage values. Interpretation at the fossil bed includes “hands on” examples of which is discussed and a functional analysis of two complete skeletons of megafauna species. The presentation can be tailored to suit the level of understanding of the student age group.
Concepts: World Heritage, biodiversity, extinction, adaptation, evolution, conservation
Bat Tour
Infra-red cameras placed in the Bat Cave have given us a unique opportunity to observe bats in their natural environment, without disturbance. The Bat Cave at Naracoorte Caves has tens of thousands of Bentwing Bats living within its depths. The female bats congregate in this special cave in spring to give birth to their young. Five infra-red cameras placed throughout the cave allow visitors to see what is happening in the cave. The facility is unique, the only place in the world where such technology has been used to view bats in their natural habitat. During the time that the cameras have been in place some amazing sights have been recorded. Bats can regularly be viewed drinking water from tiny straw stalactites in the cave, grooming themselves and feeding their suckling young (called pups). Rarer sightings of an albino bat (white) have taken place and a "one off" sighting of a two metre brown snake in the cave. The range of activities that can be based around bats and this facility are only limited by the imagination. These could include a walk through Blanche Cave, which is a wintering cave for the bats. The best time to view the bats is in the evening through summer; however, the facility is available all year round.
Concepts: Flight, echolocation, adaptation, ecosystems, conservation, ecotourism
Alexandra Cave
Alexandra Cave is a highly decorated cave with every type of cave formation on display. The tour focuses on the geology of the region and how the caves were formed. This is all explained in simple, easy to understand terms targeting the age and learning capabilities of the students. The processes of speleothem (stalactites and stalagmites) growth are explained and students have a rare chance to touch a piece of stalagmite. This cave is very pretty and is a good introduction to caves and the processes that operate within them.
Concepts: Geological time, speleogenisis (fancy word for cave formation), conservation
Wonambi Fossil Centre
In the Wonambi display, science and theatre have come together giving us a “snapshot” of what ancient Naracoorte may have been like. The display recreates a time when the local animal community was much more diverse than today. This information has been gleaned from the vast fossil deposits within the cave. If you were able to step back 200,000 years, you would have seen over 20 species of kangaroo in this area, now there are just four. Forests, woodlands and wetlands supported a variety of animals such as browsing (leaf eating kangaroos) and giant quadrupedal marsupials such as Zygomaturus and Diprotodon. Megafaunal predators included the "Marsupial Lion": Thylacoleo, the madtsoiid-like snake Wonambi and the large goanna-like creature Megalania. Many of the other species living in the area still exist today or are locally extinct. A range of activities can be based around this display. There are several worksheets available and out staff are trained to facilitate these, however there is enough flexibility for teachers to design their own activities to suit their students. The Wonambi Fossil Centre is a good follow up to the Victoria Fossil Cave as it is a visual representation based on the fossil record of the caves.
Concepts: Biodiversity, extinction, adaptations, evolution, conservation
Wirreanda Bunkhouse
Wirreanda is the accommodation facility at the Naracoorte Caves. It is dormitory style and is able to sleep up to 50 people. Wirreanda has a fully equipped modern kitchen. This includes all crockery, cutlery, cooking utensils, stove and a microwave. This facility can seat 50 people for a meal. The ablution block is separate from the other buildings and is wheelchair accessible. A laundry is also housed in this building. The perfect base for a school camp. If you prefer, a large campground is available, with access to all facilities except the kitchen.
The Kids' Shed
An educational room is now available for use at the Naracoorte Caves. This facility provides a base for many activities. Students can become a "palaeontologist" for a day, which may involve reconstructing skeletons, making a cast of an extinct animal tooth and digging for fossils. These activities work particularly well after a visit to the Victoria Fossil Cave and the Wonambi Fossil Centre and can be tailored to the students needs. The Kids Shed can also provide a sheltered lunch area.
Walking Trails
Students can enjoy an amazing array of wildlife along the park's walking trails that wind their way through remnant bushland. A short walk from the exit of the Wonambi Fossil Centre takes you to the Wet Cave through a small patch of stringybark scrub. In spring, many varieties of orchids flourish with birdlife in abundance. The World Heritage Walk takes you to Victoria Fossil Cave from the Wet Cave entrance, identifying several sites of World Heritage significance along the way. This trail is 1.2 km long and takes about 30 minutes to complete. From the Victoria Fossil Cave car park, take the trail to Stoney Point picnic ground and enjoy the ancient limestone cliffs, stringybark scrub on the range and River Red Gum flats along the way.
Bat Facts
Bats are the only flying mammals. There are over 950 species world-wide. They range in size from flying foxes with a wingspan of over 1 metre to tiny insect eating bats weighing a mere gram or two.
The diets of different bats includes fruit, small animals, insects, pollen and even blood (the blood-sucking bats in Latin America). All the species of bats in Australia are either fruit eating (flying foxes) or insect eating bats.
Fossil Facts and Theories
The animals now termed Megafauna includes over 20 species identified from Naracoorte Caves deposits. Some of these animals were first identified in the 1830s from Wellington Caves in New South Wales. Naracoorte Caves major discoveries of fossil deposits took place in 1969. Since then new species have been added to the list including Progrura naracoortensis (a giant Malleefowl) and Wonambi naracoortensis (a large snake).
Download Fossil Facts and Theories (100Kb PDF)
Wonambi Fossil Centre Worksheet
Naracoorte Caves offers educational tours covering topics such as cave science, fossils, bats and discovering more about Australia's past in the Wonambi Fossil Centre. Several worksheets are available to work with on site and are frequently updated.
Download Fossil Centre Worksheet (50Kb PDF)
For further information contact Naracoorte Caves National Park.
Email Naracoorte Caves or
Telephone (61 8) 8762 2340
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