Jenolan Caves - Animal Sanctuary for 100 Years

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Get Ready for 'Dine & Discover'

Have you heard of 'Dine & Discover' yet? The NSW Government has devised a fun and easy way to help the economy, and it won't cost you anything.

If you are over 18, and a NSW resident, get ready. Make sure you have the Service NSW app. On the app, you will be able to apply for 4 FREE Dine & Discover vouchers. You will be able to redeem the free vouchers when you are out and about, on or before June 30, 2021.

For each FREE Dine & Discover voucher you redeem, a business will receive $25 from the NSW government. It might not sound like much, but it will add up quickly and will help get business moving again. What a good idea!

At Jenolan, we will be happy to accept your Dine & Discover vouchers - one voucher per person, per day - towards dinner or high tea in Chisolm’s Restaurant or lunch in the Caves Café, where we are planning handy packages for couples and families. Or put a voucher towards a cave tour, a '2 for 1' cave tour combo deal or even a locals deal.

Jenolan - 100-Year-Old Wildlife Sanctuary

World Wildlife Day was earlier this month, on March 3. Although Jenolan is famous for Australia's most spectacular caves, it is not as well known as an animal sanctuary. Jenolan has been an animal sanctuary for 100 years and was one of the first areas in Australia to be declared an animal sanctuary. We don't have any caged animals. All the animals on our reserve are wild. Although we can't guarentee it, visitors are likely to spot native birds and wildlife while at Jenolan.

Jenolan is located in isolated, rugged bushland, on the western edge of the Blue Mountains of NSW. Before European settlers discovered the caves, the surrounding area was teeming with native wildlife. But over time, with no checks on foxes and recreational shooters, fashions involving animal skins and bird feathers and the nineteenth century taxidermy fad, wildlife numbers sadly began to decline. Since then, with the help of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, we have been doing all the right things to help our wildlife thrive.

To find out more about Jenolan, the animal sanctuary, click on Animal Sanctuary for 100 Years.

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Jenolan Women of the Past Inspiring Women of the Future

When we think of the history of Jenolan Caves, we imagine treacherous subterranean waters, ancient, unforgiving rock and impenetrable darkness, as brave men risked death to explore the alien underworld. And yes, this aspect of Jenolan’s history is so exciting! Such exploits inspire and fire the imagination of each generation.

But it’s a little-known fact that from way back in the 1860s, there have been just as many women working at Jenolan, supporting the men and the business. Their work wasn't glamourous, and one just doesn’t hear as much about them.

Once accommodation was built at Jenolan, women were hired to work in the dining room, the laundry and to do the general housekeeping. Remember that housekeeping was much more menial in those days before handy electrical appliances. As the hotel grew to 100 rooms, the need for staff increased. For all those guests in busy times, that was a lot of sheets to wash and, unfortunately, a lot of chamber pots to deal with! It wasn’t glamourous. Women needed to be strong and stoic.

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The Six Foot Track - How a Shortcut Became an Endurance Challence

Nowadays it is easy to drive to Jenolan Caves, just 3 hours from Sydney Airport along the Great Western Highway. The beautiful scenery makes it all worthwhile. But in Jenolan’s early days as a tourist destination, getting to Jenolan was not easy at all.

First you had to write a letter to say you intended to visit. Then you caught a train to Tarana. You paid 35 shillings, and Mr Wilson took you 20 miles (5 hours) to his homestead by horse and cart. You stayed the night at his property, travelled 4 more hours (18 miles) the next day and arrived at Jenolan Caves via Cambridge’s steep Zig-Zag road.

Believe it or not, this route was still preferred to the rough Jenolan Caves Road, which didn’t actually reach Jenolan Caves at all.There was a clear need for a new and shorter route to Jenolan.

On March 24 1884, on the orders of the NSW Premier, Alexander Stuart, a party set out from Katoomba, to blaze a trail to Jenolan Caves. Over 11 days, they marked a trail along 42 km. As a result, the NSW government granted £2,500 for construction of a bridle track, which was very popular for awhile. But by 1940, it had all but disappeared.

However, in the 1980s, the track got a new lease of life, as The Six Foot Track. Now, it's popular for walkers, and every March more than 800 keen competitors run the track from Katoomba to Jenolan, on "the toughest marathon in Australia".

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