South Australia’s only World Heritage area is comprised of several caves that feature fragile stalactite and stalagmite formations. The caves have earned their World Heritage listing because of the extensive collection of fossils that have been unearthed here.
Fossils found in the caves provide a unique glimpse into the past and the Wonambi Fossil Centre inside the park has an excellent display featuring animatronic depictions of the extinct marsupial megafauna that lived here around 200,000 years ago.
One of the caves is home to a colony of the rare southern bentwing bat and infrared video cameras have been set up that allow you to view the bat from the Bat Cave Teleview Centre.
There are various tours of the different caves, each with its own unique features.
An hour-long tour takes you to a large fossil deposit in the Victorian Fossil Cave where you get to experience the cave’s World Heritage values.
Alexandra and Cathedral Caves offers a beautiful glimpse of cave decorations.
Tickets for the Alexandra Cave and Wonambi Fossil Centre also include entrance to Wet Cave, which features a self-guided walk that is ideal if you want to explore the cave at your own pace.
Cave tours cost $9 for Wet Cave, $20 for Alexandra Cave and $30 for Victoria Fossil Cave. Entry to the Wonambi Fossil Centre costs $13, although the combined entry ticket to Wonambi Fossil Centre and Wet Cave is better value at $15. Admission to Bat Wonderland (which also includes entry to Blanche Cave) costs $25.
Most of the cave tours are fairly tame, focusing mostly on the caves’ natural history but there are also some excellent value adventure caving tours that operate in Stick-Tomato, Blackberry and Fox Caves. Adventure caving trips cost $60.