My Father had a Profound Influence on Me. He was a Lunatic. ~ A Quote by Spike Milligan
Generations of Aussie families have fond memories of Jenolan Caves. With Father’s Day coming up, it’s a great time to reminisce. Fathers influence their kids in many ways. Family visits to Jenolan left many children with such great memories that they now work at the caves.
For example, Scott Melton has been a cave tour guide at Jenolan for 27 years, but his Mum and Dad brought him to Jenolan Caves in 1974, age 8. He said, “Our family first visited Jenolan Caves on the June long weekend. We arrived in the recently purchased HQ Premier (which Dad still has) just before 8.00pm - too late to go on a tour. Of course, I was upset, so I then started an almost weekly ritual of pestering Dad (& Mum) to take us back to Jenolan Caves.
“They finally relented and we visited just after my 9th birthday in March 1975. We did the Temple of Baal & Lucas Cave tours. I still remember when we arrived on the Balcony overlooking the Blue Lake, with Dad saying “Well, I hope you enjoyed your tour of the Lucas Cave!”. Now 45 years later, as a guide, I still use that line with kids when we get to the Balcony!
“I started as a guide in 1993. Mum & Dad still visited Jenolan on a regular basis. When they stayed in Jenolan Caves House, their favourite room was 303. Mum is no longer with us, but Dad still visits Jenolan occasionally and looking back, I think fondly of all the times that they drove me to Jenolan, starting way back in 1974. Happy Father’s Day Dad!”
Cave Guide Steve Dethick first visited Jenolan with his Mum, Dad and family in 1989. They loved it so much that they returned roughly twice a year until the early 2000s. Jenolan had a campground in those days, and Steve remembers, “Occasionally we would ‘splurge’ and stay in Caves House, but often camping was more fun. Finding dry firewood was always a challenge, and the campground soil was gravelly. Dad would swear and curse trying to get the pegs in. We called him ‘Tentmaster’ for his endless fine tuning of the camping rig. One evening, walking from campground to Grand Arch for an evening River Cave tour, Dad got in an "altercation" with an angry wombat....and the wombat won!” Good times!
The grand Dining Room in Caves House, now Chisolm’s Restaurant, was built in the fashionable Art Deco style of 1926. Lofty columns, high bay windows and imposing ceiling, deeply embossed with strong geometric patterns, mark it as a place where important people dined. Today’s 21st century guests still enjoy all the refined ambience of those architectural features, which, along with a warm open fireplace, are still there.
Picture your Dad on Father’s Day, enjoying a 3-course lunchor dinner, and topping it off with a glass of Courvoisier VSOP cognac, Hennessy VSOP cognac or one of our range of single malt whiskeys.
For Father's Day, we are actually offering several tempting gift vouchers, packages and discounts. For example, you can save 10% if you buy a gift voucher for accommodation or accommodation and meals on or before Father's Day, September 6. And if you come to Jenolan for Father's Day lunch in Chisolm's Restaurant, you can save 10% on single malts and also on cognac!
