Giant Pit Of Gemstones You Can Climb In

Get a cup and fill it up with your favourite gems.

TLDR

• Shop Selling Gems and Opals

• Has big gemstone pits

• In Glenview (Sunshine Coast)

• Gem fossicking for $12

• Instagram @opalsdownundersc

The Basics

A shop off the highway as you head up to the Sunshine Coast. Just before you get to Aussie World. Inside are collections of some gem stones to buy as well as a big collection of opals. However the main attraction is the huge pits of polished gems. You buy a cup and head into them and can fossick and collect the gems.

My Experience

As someone who has collected rocks since I was 8 this place is my heaven. I had driven past it so many times and seen the sign ‘OPALS DOWN UNDER’. A shocking admission is, I’m not a big fan of opals so never really paid this place much attention. That all changed when I discovered there are four huge outdoor pits filled with gems you can go into and fossick.

Fossicking for rocks is so much funner than seeing them on a shelf and just buying them. I don’t know why but I have always loved a good fossick. It’s so much more rewarding. I love going to those junk shops where things are just dumped into piles and trawling through trash to find treasure. Opals Down Under has that same vibe. The inside of the shop is all curated and fancy but head outside and thats where the fun is.

I bought a large cup, trust me ALWAYS get the large cup, and spent hours sitting in the sun and occasionally the shady spots, looking for rocks. They had all of them and you needed to go looking for the good ones. Dalmatian Jasper being my favourite.

The kids love this too and you can just take them here and let them do their thing for hours.

It also has this sensory experience. Sitting on the rocks and just pushing them around with your hand feels so good. I did feel like Scrooge McDuck in his vault of coins at one point.

They do have a rock chart you can take into the pit with you to help identify the stones or just use the digital one.