THE CARLOTTA ARCH.
On returning to the mouth of the Arch Cave, the tourist proceeds towards the Carlotta Arch—so named in honour of a daughter of the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, Mr. P. F. Adams, who visited the caves 10 or 12 years ago, and has always taken an interest in their exploration and preservation. Ascending some stone steps, guarded by galvanised wire, an excellent view of the Ball Room to the eastward is obtained. The steps make access easy. Previously the rocks were slippery, in consequence of the polish given to them by the feet of marsupials, and the return journey was accomplished by holding on to a rope, and sliding down the glassy surface.
The entrance to the Carlotta Arch is protected by a wire railing, about 35 feet by 8 or 10 feet. Passing through the iron gate, the visitor finds himself on a little platform. Hundreds of feet below is a gully, rippling at the bottom of which is a rill of water, which sings as it goes, and whose melody, softened by distance, is pleasant as the hum of bees or the carolling of birds. Above is a hoary rock, rugged and bare, with the exception of some clumps of lilies which flourish and bloom in its inaccessible clefts. From this point the tourist ascends the Nettle Rocks for about 60 or 70 feet. Some steps are to be cut here, and certainly they are much needed, for at present the journey is very toilsome and difficult. From the end of the protected portion to the summit—70 or 80 feet—the acclivity may be comfortably surmounted by ordinarily active people. The Carlotta Arch is about 100 feet high and about 70 feet wide, with an interior fringe of stalactites. The picture seen through it is exceedingly grand, including majestic trees and romantic gullies, huge mountains and immense rocks, with bold escarpments. The walls of the arch are pierced like a fortress. Its entire superstructure represents the union of two mountains by a natural bridge, clad with trees and shrubs and creeping plants which trail gracefully down its sides. On the summit are eucalypti, and conspicuous amongst them is an iron guard for the protection of passengers going over the viaduct. About half-way up this track from the arch to the bridge (which is the concluding portion of the new road from Mount Victoria), a good view can be obtained of McEwan's Creek, where the water has broken through the hills, leaving the limestone rocks and caves sometimes on the one side and sometimes on the other for a distance of three miles up the valley running northerly. To the westward is the Zigzag, leading to the cave-house by the route from Tarana, and from which can be obtained the grandest view en route from Oberon to Jenolan. Here, after having spent an hour or two in the caves, it is pleasant to bask in the golden sunshine and watch the gaudy parrots flit by. From this point to the northward the limestone is visible to its full extent till it is overlapped by higher mountains. It is about three miles in length, by a maximum of half a mile in width. Immediately to the south the limestone dyke is covered, but it crops up again about seven miles distant, and continues on the surface for 15 to 20 miles, in the direction of Goulburn. Near to what is called the Gallery (the approach to the bridge over the arch) is an old gum tree, growing right over the centre of the Devil's Coach House, and 500 feet above the gullies, which can be seen by looking over the precipice. If it were a blue gum tree, "and nothing more," it would be as uninteresting as the "yellow primrose by a river's brim" was to Peter Bell. As a specimen of its kind this tree is a failure; but it happens to be in the centre of the cave reserve, and the "blaze" on it bears the mark, "F 69." From this point the reserve extends two and a half miles east and west by five miles north and south, and is certainly one of the most wonderful areas dedicated to the public.
In the rocks near to the Centre Tree is an orifice called "The Devil's Hole." It pierces the mountain obliquely, but without much deviation from a straight line, and a stone thrown down it takes, according to its weight, from nine to twelve seconds to find a resting-place on the floor of the Devil's Coach House! This is an experiment which should not be tried without precaution, and then only under official sanction, otherwise some serious accident may occur. It would be well to erect notice-boards at this and several adjacent places, warning persons not to cast stones into the caverns, for the whole mountain is full of holes and caves and drives. A piece of rock cast heedlessly into a crevice or perforation in one cave might mean death to a tourist in lower cavernous regions, and there is neither medical man nor coroner within convenient distance. From the bridge (which is guarded by wire ropes) on the western side, the visitor looks down on the Elder Cave; the Zigzag is in front, and below is the sylvan valley from which the "ermin'd frost" has been thawed, and which now "laughs back the sun." To the eastward are in view of the spectator the Nettle and Arch Caves gate, the south entrance to the Devil's Coach House, and the waterfall to the Cave River. In the distance can be discerned a place known as Oaky Camp, or McEwan's Camp, which is of interest in connection with bushranging episodes of the olden time. From the highest point of the hill over the Grand Archway the cave-house can be seen nestling in the valley 500 feet below. Perched upon this pinnacle, with terrible depths on each side and awe-inspiring grandeur at every turn, the beholder is apt to realise how very small is the space he fills in the economy of Nature, how inadequate is language to express deep emotions of the mind, and how marvellous are the works of the Creator!
