The Crystal Caves

Useful Information

Location:	69 Main St, Atherton QLD 4883, Australia. Atherton Tablelands. From Brisbane follow A1 north to Gordonvale, turn left on 52 to Atherton. On the Main Street. (-17.2656229, 145.4757288)
Open:	All year daily 9-17, last entry 16. Closed 01-JAN, Australia Day, ANZAC Day, Good Friday, 25-DEC, Boxing Day. [2024]
Fee:	Adults AUD 25, Children (6-16) AUD 12.50, Children (0-5) free, Families (2+2) AUD 65. [2024]
Classification:	Cave Replica Replica Underground Mine Mining Museum mineral collection, shop
Light:	Incandescent Coloured Light
Dimension:	A=300 m², two floors. V=25,000/a
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	The Crystal Caves, 69 Main Street, Atherton 4883, NQ Australia, Tel: +61-07-4091-2365. E-mail:
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.
1991	cave expanded by a team of six including an engineer, electrician and carpenters.
17-JUL-1992	extended exhibition inaugurated by the state minister for tourism, the Hon Bob Gibbs.
1999	won the prize for the best Significant Regional Attraction in the North Queensland Tourism Awards.

Description

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

World — inside The Crystal Caves.
© The 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 showcaves.com. 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 crystals all on his own. There is a short briefing for the visit, and unlimited time to see and take pictures of minerals and fossils. Rather unusual is the possibility to touch and feel minerals and fossils, normally it's not allowed to touch anything, especially in caves where speleothems are destroyed by touching. The shop has free wifi, and beneath the mineral shop there is also a gift and jewellery shop.

The cave has a flat floor and is wheelchair-accessible, which is a strong hint that it is not a natural cave. Nevertheless, parts of the cave are extremely well-done copies of natural caves and speleothems. On the other side, there are displays with different groups of minerals which have no connection with caves and karst. So while all the aspects are correct and well done, the assemblage as such is completely impossible in nature. Nevertheless, a great experience, the only drawback is the coloured light. But it seems they reduced it. After all, it's impossible to see the beautiful colours of the crystals if there is colored light.

The tour starts with a winding walkway, which is a replica karst cave with speleothems. To make it more realistic, the ceiling is low, and it is necessary to stoop a little. It shows an exhibition of numerous calcite crystals. The Fossil Gallery shows numerous fossils of the last 520 million years. Among the oldest are trilobites (520 to 380 Ma) and an orthoceras (480 to 200 Ma). Numerous ammonites were found in the nearby Walsh river. And there is petrified wood, which has striking colours and the typical annual growth rings of wood. The next section shows Fluorescent Minerals, so it is necessary to turn off the headlamps, to see the beautiful colours. Minerals which are rather dull in normal light start to glow bright pink, green, yellow and purple under black light. This is Australia's largest collection of fluorescent minerals. Now an enormous Amethyst Geode which is 3.5 m high and was sliced into two halves can be seen. This room is dedicated to the enormous variations of quartz crystals, including a sort of fountain built from rose quartz. The flowing water adds a special atmosphere and makes the colours of the rocks more intensive. Here is also a 525 kg boulder of Rose Quartz, The Fairytale is a passage which is full of small crystals and agate slices on the ceiling. Highlights are three of the largest selenite crystals in the world from the Cave Cave of Swords in México. The Grotto Grande is the center of the exhibition and also the oldest part. Interactive displays make it easy to learn more about crystals, gemstones and fossils. The Glasshouse Gallery is the only part where the minerals cannot be touched, they are kept safe behind glass. These are the most delicate crystals in the exhibition and they are very fragile. And the last section are the Magic Spheres which are behind a black curtain, because again these are fluorescent minerals. Cut into spheres, they represent a model of the solar system, with colours corresponding to the characteristics of each planet.

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 cannot confirm this claim. Smile

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