Mole Creek Caves & Honey Farm, Tasmania

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    On Tuesday, January 7th, we had the opportunity to go to two amazing places in Tasmania. The first one was Mole Creek Cave in Mole Creek, TAS. At the beginning, the tour guide did a land acknowledgement. While I came into Australia knowing that this land belonged to the Aboriginal people, I did not know which specific tribes lived in the places that I would be visiting, so I was glad that I was told. If I can find the time, I want to learn more about the Pallittorre tribe that originally inhabited Mole Creek.

    Throughout our time in the cave, there was a big emphasis on not touching anything, (the oils on our hands can mess up the mineral formations) which reminded me of the concept of “leaving no trace”. However, there were pieces of limestone as well as other rocks that we were allowed to touch before going into the cave so that we could get an idea of what they feel like. Everyone in the class was very respectful of this, and we even got to see the amazing things that can happen in the cave when humans do not mess with them. The biggest example of this was a big crystal that only grows a millimeter per year through droplets of water. We even got to see one of those droplets fall onto it, which really put the time it takes for that crystal to grow into perspective.

    Before going to Mole Creek Cave, I knew that we were going to see glow worms. However, it was not until I went into the cave that I found out that they are actually insects, not worms. After letting our eyes adjust, the tour guide turned the lights off so we could see as many glow worms as we could. Although we were not permitted to take photos of them, the tour guide gave us a while to look at them, so I was able to capture the image in my mind really well.

    The second place we went to was Melita Honey Farm in Chudleigh, TAS. Prior to going to Melita Honey Farm, myself and many of my classmates had assumed that we would be going on a tour of a farm and learning about bees. Instead, we ended up hanging out in their shop and tasting at least forty different types of honey. While I did know that there was more than one type of honey before going there, I had never realized just how many there were. Even though we were not exactly on a guided tour, the workers were there to answer questions, and tell us a bit about the different types of honey. For example, they pointed out which honeys could only be found in Tasmania.

    While the focus was more on the honey itself rather than the bees making it, we did get an opportunity to see some bees up close. I even tried looking for the queen bee, but I was unsuccessful. Surrounding the bee hives, there were several signs and plaques with more information about them. For example, one of the plaques went in depth about how bees keep themselves warm in the winter. Something that I found really interesting was the tunnel from the beehive to outside for the worker bees, as it allowed me to see them in action. I have always liked bees (as they pollinate so much of the food that we eat), and after looking at different products made of beeswax and trying every flavor of honey imaginable, my appreciation for them deepened.

    I really enjoyed both of these activities. I found the tour guides to be very enthusiastic, which helped spark an interest in me as well. Additionally, I found that everyone in the class was very supportive of each other during them as well. I am looking forward to taking what I have learned from that day back to my family and friends at Elon.

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