mt hay gemstone tourist park

We visited Mt Hay, kids had a great time finding the thunder eggs, well worth the drive and money. Very interesting.

It is interesting to understand more about the rock formation at this part of Queensland soil. The shop owners are helpful and informative and humble to share the knowledge. I enjoyed chatting with them.

visited this tourist park recently- in our hired campavan - wonderful experience and little fellow still talking about it and shows people the thundereggs he had cut there - very relaxed, friendly place, clean and peaceful - so much fun digging to find our own samples

We really enjoyed fossicking for thundereggs at Mount Hay Gemstone Tourist Park. The owner does that for 40 years, he is passionate and he will explain everything to you (how thundereggs are formed, why, how to dig...). We didn't know anything about thundereggs and we learnt a lot there. When digging in the dirt, you will find heaps of thundereggs (some very small, some bigger), so you won't leave empty handed! The best part is when he open some of your finds and you can see how beautiful they are. Then, the owner took time to show us around and told us more about the volcano. It was a really instructive and fun experience.There is a shop where you can buy beautiful gems and a picnic area as well. And you can stay for the night. For us, it is a must-do in Rockhampton.

To be honest we weren't quite sure what to expect but decided to have a look as we were coming to the end of our stay in Rockhampton. We were pleasantly surprised at what we found. The site is on a now dormant volcano and the previous lava flows have produced some really incredible gem stones and mineral formations. The was an opportunity to "Fossick" (hunt for and break off "eggs" - egg-shaped rocks that formed when the lava cooled). You actually get a free egg when you pay for a tour. They will cut this egg in half for you and in ours we found the most beautiful amethyst and quartz crystal formation. For those who caravan or camp there is a well equipped camping site with power, hot water and showers. All in all well worth a visit.

We had a fun couple of hours at the Mt Hay Gemstone Park. Good, wholesome family time spent fossicking/ digging around in the dirt looking for thundereggs!! Short drive - about half hour- from Rockhampton. It's quite simple - digging around in the dirt - but that's what made it appealing! Our kids ages, 10 - 13 happily sifted through the dirt looking for thundereggs with pick axes and rakes and we found quite a few! The owner cuts open the rocks at the end of the visit and you have ready made souvenirs to take home - whatever you find, you keep!The owners/ staff were friendly, helpful and accommodating. Always good to support the locals!

I had such a great time in the couple of hours I spent here! Worth a stop! Amazingly awesome staff that made fossicking fun also very knowledgable! Got some good eggs!

Went Mt Hay in search of Thunder Eggs for something a little different to do whilst visiting Rockhampton. The views are very nice, the staff are lovely Gwen who looked after the store while we were there was wonderful, very helpful and kind. It is a fun way to spend a couple of hours digging through mounds of dirt and rocks looking for the elusive Thunder Eggs.

We went to Rockhampton for Easter and saw fliers for this place. My daughter was very keen to go check it out on the way home we we made the detour and are very glad we did! Firstly the view from up the hill is pretty awesome. The setup is that mounds of dirt from the mine are placed in a safe area so you are given instructions on what to look out for, some tools and off you go to fossick. There were plenty of interesting rocks to gather and of course quite a few little thundereggs. Included in the cost of the fossicking is cutting open of a couple of these which is exciting for the kids to see. We came home with piles of "cool rocks" that have made our backyard rock garden much more interesting. My daughter's verdict - best Easter Egg hunt ever.