Visiting The Capricorn Caves

When I was asked to travel to the Capricorn Coast for my 9-5, I jumped at the chance – and then immediately started researching what on Earth there was going on there. One of the first things I found was the Capricorn Caves, and I was immediately excited to visit.

I am a cave nerd. I love them, almost as much as I love lighthouses. If there is a place in the world with lighthouses and caves, I’ll love it forever. It’s probably part of the reason I love Margaret River so much (that, plus the wine helps!)

The Capricorn Caves are about 20km north of Rockhampton, so you’ll need to collect a hire car when you land at Rockhampton Airport. If you’re driving through on your way up the coast, the caves are just off the Pacific Coast Way making it the perfect spot to stop and stretch your legs for a few hours. If you want to stay a little longer, there are self-contained cottages on site.

These limestone caves are the largest privately-owned cave system in Australia, and some millions of years past, were once part of the Great Barrier Reef! Now owned and run by a local Rockhampton family, Capricorn Caves are preserved and cared for so that visitors might enjoy them for years to come.

There are a wide variety of guided tour options for you to explore the caves, some easy wanders and others more adventurous. The gentlest walk through, the Cathedral Cave tour showcases the largest and most spectacular caves in the system, the ecosystem of flora and fauna who have made their home in the caves and if you’re as lucky as me, you’ll meet the family of tiny bats!

For the more adventurous, the Capricorn Explorer tour will take you through the previously unseen Deep Vault Cave and Flower Pot Cave, where you’ll bear witness to the force of nature, see the underground river and definitely meet those bats! If you still want more, you can don your hard hat and headlamp and crawl through tight spaces on the Capricorn Adventurer tour.

Whatever your level of ability, the team at Capricorn Caves will help you to visit the iconic Cathedral Cave – they’re truly dedicated to accessibility to the caved and ensuring that they’re giving good cave education to all. My guide was fiercely passionate, full of tips and fun facts about the caves and the local area. These caves are a fascinating showcase of above-ground limestone caves, which are so different to the underground, wet and cool caves I’m so used to visiting. Make the time, you won’t be disappointed!

I visited the Capricorn Caves as a guest of Southern Great Barrier Tourism.