Visitors will once more be able to explore around Blue Lake as part of a huge infrastructure project to commence later this year at the iconic Jenolan Caves site.
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The facilities at Jenolan Caves will be getting a long-term lift, with the announcement of $8.5 million in funding for infrastructure at the site.
The funds, announced onsite by NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Tuesday, April 24, will pay for an upgrade to the entrance, gift shop and guides office, including the introduction of a theatrette, as well as additions to the existing walking tracks.
“Most of us have a Jenolan Caves story – you've been brought here by your parents, your grandparents have talked to you about their first experience, or as a parent yourself bringing your own kids here, for me that was many many years ago,” Mr Barilaro said.
“But returning today, walking through those caves, I can tell you the excitement and spectacle of what those caves are continues to be just as fresh today as it was.”
Jenolan Caves director Jodie Anderson said the theatrette would be an opportunity to bring some of the caves’ history and cultural heritage alive, using new technologies to showcase these aspects of the region.
Bathurst MP Paul Toole said it was exciting that the funds would also allow for a 10km circuit of track to be introduced which would join the current Six Foot Track to the McKeown Valley.
“This is only going to increase the opportunities for more visitors to come to the area and enjoy the experience of the Jenolan Caves,” he said.
“This is a regional product. Something that’s only going to benefit the wider region.”
The walkways around Blue Lake, which have been closed off, will be reconstructed as boardwalks, which will help protect the resident platypus population.
Ms Anderson said the creatures were a charming feature of the caves.
“I have been able to come down at lunch and watch them sometimes, where they nest along the edges of the lake,” she said.
New opportunities for wedding photography will also be opened up, with the addition of a new platform at the weir.
The project is expected to begin in December this year and be complete in 2021.
“We want to make sure that visitors still have an amazing experience here while the new facilities are under construction,” Ms Anderson said.