Thundereggs & Spherulitic Rhyolite (Rainforest Jasper)
Fossicking – (9:00am – 4:30pm)
Visitors can fossick through piles of thunderegg – bearing material which is excavated from the nearby mine site, and transported to a safe area suitable for all ages. Visitors are given a bag for their stones, a tool to fossick, and shown what to look for. Any stones collected can be kept, and upon completion of their search, each person can have a couple of stones cut for free. Extra cutting is available at extra cost. Fees apply for fossicking, and enclosed footwear is required. No fixed starting times or bookings required but we suggest arriving by 2pm at the latest to enjoy the full fossicking experience. Our hours of operation are 7 days a week, 9am to 4:30pm. Pets allowed if kept under control.
Prices
Adults: $30
Seniors: $27
Kids (5-17): $15
Under 5s: $5
Family Rate (2+2 or more) – 10% off total price
We are open 7 days a week – 9am to 4:30pm
We also cater for Student Groups! Email us for more info. Bookings are required.
CLOSED IN FOOTWEAR IS REQUIRED TO FOSSICK – NO EXCEPTIONS!
Gift Shop
Also on site is a gift shop with an extensive range of gemstone and pewter products, including souvenirs, gifts, gemstone jewellery, carvings etc. and “Aradon Fine Pewter” products, which are manufactured on site.
The kiosk sells cold drinks and ice creams. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own lunch. Open 7 days a week, 9:00am to 4:30pm.
Camping
Powered Site: 2 adults/1night $25 – $5 each additional person
Unpowered Site: 2 adults/1night $20 – $5 each additional person
Amenities:
Pets allowed (must be controlled)
Camp Fires are allowed
Basic Hot showers
Septics
Coin-operated Washing Machine
Hear what a Mt Hay experience is all about..!
Wow! What a fabulous experience. Our plan was to stay for only 2 nights but we stayed for 4 instead. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. The rocks and particularly the Thunder eggs are so cool! This a great place to go whether for a day visit or overnight. There is something there for all ages. Don and Roi were great hosts, very knowledgeable and helpful and passionate about what they do. Friends came up and joined us one day and said “What a hidden Gem of a place.” We can’t wait to go back again!????
This doesn’t look like your average ‘tourist attraction’. It is very low key. But what it lacks in flash is made up for in the literally hands on access you are given to the rocks and the gems on hand. If you choose to fossick for your own thunder rocks (I did) you are shown what to look for and then handed a pick and a pail of water to find your own. It didn’t take long. I brought in a handful of stones and watched as they were cut open in the workshop. I loved it! Hands on discovery adventure with no hype or false promises.
If you don’t want to fossick, there are open displays of all sorts of gems and rock samples, both polished and unpolished sitting on the shelves in the shed and outside in the rock garden.
This is a great place to bring curious kids of all ages.
I camped there overnight. Again, nothing flash in the facilities, but they were all clean and worked well. I’d do this again in a heartbeat.
What a great place to visit and fossick for Thunder eggs. Plain rocks can have the most beautiful colours inside. You can read about how they form and look at examples. There is a great gift shop with rocks starting as low as a few dollars, catering for every budget. The fossicking was great – a very short, assessible walk from the gift shop and you get instructions on what to look for. In an hour we got lots of interesting rocks and they cut a couple for us, included in the price, which was very exciting. A great day out or just spend an hour. There are also a limited number of powered and unpowered sites if you want to stay.