Mount Hay Gemstone Tourist Park, 36 kilometres west of Rockhampton on the Capricorn Highway is an internationally known destination for thunderegg fossicking. Thundereggs or 'volcanic birthstones' are crystalline formations that occur when gas bubbles in molten lava solidify on cooling. Mount Hay Gemstone Tourist Park is also a well-known destination for the purchase of semi-precious Australian gemstone products, cut and polished in the Mount Hay factory. Mount Hay Gemstone Tourist Park is also the home of 'Aradon Fine Pewter', where a large range of Australiana gift lines and souvenirs are produced and marketed nationally. Visitors to the park have a choice of browsing the gift shop, going fossicking (tools and assistance provided), or taking a guided tour of the fossicking area and the gemstone cutting and pewter casting factories. Admission to the park is free (includes picnic area and barbecues), and there are camping and caravan sites as well as a kiosk. Fees apply to fossicking and tours and enclosed footwear is required.
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