The Crystal Caves


Useful Information

Location: Atherton Tablelands
Open: MAR-JAN Mon-Fri 8:30-17, Sat 8:30-16, Sun 10-16. Last enter 1 hour prior closing time.
Fee: Adults AUD 10, Child AUD 5.
Classification: mineral collection, museum, shop.
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: ar=250m², two floors. V=25,000/a
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: Fascinating Facets, 69 Main Street, Atherton 4883, NQ Australia, Tel: +61-07-4091-2365, Fax +61-07-4091-3285 E-mail: contact
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1963 Nelleke and René Boissevain immigrated to Australia from Holland.
1969 the museum De Oude Aarde (The Old Earth) opened in Giethoorn, Netherlands.
1987 René Boissevain sold his house to build a cave to house his collection for the whole world to see.
1999 won the prize for the best Significant Regional Attraction in the North Queensland Tourism Awards.

Description

inside The Crystal Caves.
© WorldThe Crystal Caves, with kind permission.

Despite its name, The Crystal Caves is not a natural cave but a shop which sells minerals and fossils. But the extraordinary concept of this shop makes it worth an entry on our pages. It is something like a combination of museum, shop and artificial mine or cave.

The visitor gets a helmet and is then allowed to discover a magic kingdom of crystalls all on his own. Rather unusual is the possibility to touch and feel minerals and fossils.

Highlights of the exhibition are numerous calcite crystals, fossils, a 525 kg boulder of Rose Quartz, Australias largest collection of flourescent minerals, three of the largest selenite crystals in the world from the CaveCave of Swords in México.

Of course there are Australian opals and the North Queenslands own Blue Topaz on display and sold. If the prices are true wholesale prices, as they tell, we can not confirm. Smile

The Crystal Caves is owned by René Boissevain and his wife Nelleke, who traveled the world since 1963 and collected many spectacular items. For European visitor, their mineral museum De Oude Aarde (The Old Earth) in Giethoorn, Netherlands may be a nice alternative.