The World of Briabehk
The caves, ravines and welling springs told of in Briabehk actually exist. Today they are part of the area known as the Cooleman Plain, deep within the Kosciusko National Park highlands in South Eastern Australia. Those adventurous enough to seek them out can wade between the towering walls of Bracken Mawr and explore the darkened depths of Trenhol, Syldhol and the many smaller caves to be found in Khalis Mawr. The karst plains, still offer a harsh haven to a wide range of native wildlife, none the least of which is the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus). These rambunctious marsupials still dig their burrows amongst the dry tussock grasses and wooded hillsides found in the ‘Holdings’. The savage winds that scour the ravines are also real. Cold alpine air spurred by the need to supplant the sun-warmed air of the valleys howls through the gorges and canyons of the plain as it seeks a path to to the valleys below .
As to the caverns, what lies beyond the entrance to these dark places in the tale of Briabehk is mostly, but not always, the product of imagination.
Follow below to see the real world of "The Holdings"
The Holdings
The Geography of the Holdings
The limestone in which the caves of the Holdings are formed, was laid down around 450 million years ago, most likely when a huge volcanic explosion left a deep crater in the earth’s surface deep within the ocean. Today, in what is now Kosciuszko National Park, the limestone-filled crater that was left behind is surrounded by hard dark granite, which adds proof to the speculation that the entirety of the Holdings lay within an ancient volcanic caldera.
Caves and the karst depressions probably first began to appear when a massive geological upheaval lifted the sunken caldera above sea level around 400 million years ago, still covered in layers of sedimentary rocks. It is probable that another 320 million years passed before those rocks eroded to leave the landscape we find today.
Bracken Mawr
Bracken Mawr
The Holds
Guildhol
Syldhol
Trenhol
The Pit
The Falls
The crossing to Commonside.