ThunderEgg Crystal Mine, Tambourine Mountain

Gold Coast Queensland

ThunderEgg Crystal Mine is at Thunderbird Park on Tambourine Mountain in the Gold Coast Hinterland. Miss 9 loves rocks and when she saw there was a place to dig up special rocks she was all for it. Luckily Tamborine Mountain makes a great day trip from the Gold Coast. There is lots to see and do and is famous for its wandering food trail.

Getting there was an adventure with very steep winding inclines which gave great views but was not suitable for campers or caravans.  Our goal for our trip to the Gold coast this year was to relax and unwind with a Slow Holiday.  We allowed most of the day for the trip and spent about 4-5 hours on the mountain.

It was a Public holiday the day we went so the coffee plantation we wanted to visit was, unfortunately, closed. The girls were not too disappointed by this as it allowed us to get to the next stop ice cream at Lemon Lovers. This was a specialist Gelato store with wonderful flavours made with lots of natural ingredients. Even the sprinkles and bubble gum flavoured ice cream was free of artificial flavours and colours. After a stop at a couple of Farm gates for fresh Avocados we reached Thunderbird Park – the goal of our trip.

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Thunderbird Park

Thunderbird Park is a multi-option entertainment venue that includes a restaurant and some lodges if you decide you want to stay there. There is a treetop adventure park, horse and pony rides, mini-golf, laser skirmish, bush walks and the reason for our visit ThunderEgg Fossicking.

The day we had chosen seemed to be the hottest of our entire trip being 34degress Celcius at the time we arrived. Possibly not ideal conditions for digging in an open cut mine. The staff did make sure we were aware that there was minimal shade and we needed to supply our own water. If we had decided not to mine there was also the option of panning for Crystals back at the Rock shop. But we were here for the Thunder Eggs so we signed up for the next session.

What is a ThunderEggs?

ThunderEggs are spherical rocks that have glassy crystals inside them. They are formed when bubbles of gas are formed in Lava. As the lava cools there is a gap inside the rock and over years silica-rich minerals seep into the inside.   They are older than the dinosaurs. Often the cavity inside is star-shaped and may have banded agate, quartz and amethyst inside. From the outside, these rocks just look like round balls of rock but it is when you cut them open you can see what kind of patterns you have found.

Where to find a ThunderEgg?

There are a few places around Australia where you can find a Thunderegg, Mount Hay, Eumundi, Mt Tamborine and Agate creek in Queensland and  Boggabri, Barrington Tops and Murwillumbah in NSW. It is estimated that at the current rate of mining at Thunderbird park they think there will still be Thundereggs to find for the next 800-1000 years.

How does Mining work at the ThunderEgg crystal mine?

When you arrive at ThunderEgg mine you sign up and pay for your mining licence and hire of equipment. Current prices  ( October 2019) are $15 per child and $24 per adult. There is also a fee for non-mining people to have access to the mine. They recommend at least one adult mine with the children as they get a bigger pick and therefore it is easier to dig up the thundereggs.

There is a set time for a safety briefing where they will discuss what it is you are looking for. Spherical rocks, heavy for size with a metallic sound when you hit them. The idea is to dig around them to remove them from the ground. Then you are given your buckets and picks and you walk up to the mine.

There is no set time for how long you can be at the mine, the only limit being closing time at 4 pm. Also the limiting factor of no toilets or water at the mine. We were there for about 1 ½ hours and excavated 2 large ( rockmelon size), 1 softball size and 2-3 cricket ball size and quite a few golf ball sized.

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You can keep whatever you collect but if it is over the size of your bucket there will be a charge per kg. When you return to the shop you will get your mining certificate. ( the kids did)

Tips for mining.

The digging can be hard work. Especially in the heat. There are lots of broken rocks around the place that you can pick up. Anything you collect you are able to keep. But keep in mind you have to carry it back and then if you are like us it will need to fit within your luggage allowance so you will want to be a bit selective.

• I would suggest bringing gloves with you if you can. I didn’t have any and did get a blister. They didn’t seem to have that as an option at the rock shop but then we didn’t ask.
• Try digging in an already established hole. Starting from scratch will take a long time and the staff at the rock shop suggested because they run in “seams” you are more likely to find some Thundereggs where others are.
• You won’t know what you have until you cut them open. This is an extra charge when you return to the Rock shop. We did see some people who came back with parts of big eggs that they had broken themselves at the mine because they were too big to carry back but this is very hard work.
• The mine closes at 4 pm. Make sure you take this into account as it is hard work walking back with loaded buckets. When you get back to the Rock shop they will help you grade your finds and make suggestions about which ones would be worth cutting and what the cost would be

Discovering our treasures

We cut 3 of our Eggs and it is a great surprise to see what was in them. They look best wet and there is the option of purchasing a lacquer kit that you can spread over the cut rocks to give them that wet look all the time.

The different colours in the ThunderEggs indicate what kind of minerals are in it and each one will have a different pattern.

The mining was hot dusty work but not without its rewards. It was so exciting to discover what might be a thunderegg and the excitement when you are finally able to extract it from the ground. If you or your kids have dreamed of being treasure hunters this is your place.