Ali Baba's Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Newnes Plateau NSW 2790. Form Lithgow B59 east to Clarence, at railway station turn left on Old Bells Line of Road. At the Lower Mountains Motorcycle Club turn right cul-de-sac to the cave. When the road become to bad, walk the rest. (-33.4208325, 150.2336418)
Open:	no restrictions. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Erosional Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Ali Baba's Cave.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Ali Baba's Cave is a huge erosional cave at the foot of a sandstone cliff in the gorge of Bungleboori Crooek. The portal faces north and is big enough for a dozen 4WD. It seems the cave is frequented by 4WD enthusiasts, at least there are numerous videos on youTube.

We actually recommend driving off Old Bells Line of Road and park when the road becomes too bad. Walk the rest, from the Old Bells Line of Road its only 1.8 km. The cave is located in the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area, but the border of this area is rather weird. A lot of the roads are actually outside the border, they form veritable corridors. Our guess is to allow the motocross and 4WD enthusiasts to drive legally. But be aware, the last part of the road including the cave is inside the borders of the preserve, and we guess driving is illegal. And the road is extremely bad, some youTube videos are quite spectacular, trucks driving down 1 m high vertical drops.

However, this is an erosional cave, and it is quite huge, as erosional caves are rare and typically quite small, it is really an exceptional geotope. On the other side, it is just a shelter, it has nod dark parts, so a torch is actually not required. There are no speleothems and no side passages, just a huge shelter, partly with a flat horizontal ceiling. The cite is spectacular from the geological view, but we guess if you are less interested in geology, it is probably somewhat disappointing. This is the obvious reason why there is so little information on the web, except for the 4WD videos.