René's Stories
Tales from the founder. Discovery, geodes, family, and the philosophy behind it all.
Why does René love crystals so much?
He is quite specific in his obsession with crystals, he's not so much into rocks or gemstones, it's the pointy bits that he loves. He specialises in crystalised mineral specimens.
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Awards
The Crystal Caves wins Gold
The Crystal Caves has won Gold at the Queensland Tourism Awards and will now compete as Queensland's finalist at the Australian Tourism Awards. Learn what this achievement means and the improvements that helped us shine.
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Family
Nelleke's story
René's wife, Nelleke, shares her story of fossicking at Agate Creek in the early 1960s. With a baby at camp, a tent stocked with tinned food, and hundreds of litres of water, they spent days exploring the outback in search of agates.
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Inside the Caves
The sensory experience includes light and sound
Ambient surroundings have always been important to René. The Dutch call it ‘gezelligheid’. It's the stuff that makes you feel warm and fuzzy when you walk into someone's home. You create it with light, sound, furnishings and even smell.
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Geology
Discover the magic of geodes
Ever wondered what's inside a geode? Learn how these natural wonders form, where they come from, and experience the thrill of cracking open your very own geode at The Crystal Caves in Atherton.
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Accessibility
René wants everyone to be able to rock on!
Inspired by Queensland's Year of Accessible Tourism 2023-2024 we jumped on board and made some changes including greater mobility support and wheelchair access along with a suite of interpretive…
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Founder
René is still a kid at heart
René is still a big kid at heart, but as an actual little kid, he spent a lot of time in the forests surrounding his house in Den Dolder in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
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Sustainability
Powering a greener future at the Crystal Caves
At The Crystal Caves in Atherton, we've always been passionate about more than just crystals. We're equally committed to protecting the environment that has created them. Since joining the ecoBiz…
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Recognition
René was named one of the 'must meet characters' in Queensland
Not many people's CV includes tobacco grader, café owner, high pressure cleaner sales rep, tag-along tour operator, palm tree nursery owner and cave builder. René's does, and this Indiana Jones character of Tropical North Queensland is the first to admit not all of his business ideas worked.
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Experience
Sharing the love of cracking geodes
René loves to tell the story of when he hit a big agate geode in Agate creek in the early sixties. The agate burst open and there were crystals inside. His passion was ignited.
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Hear It in Person
René still loves to share a story.
He drops in to the caves regularly. If you visit and he's around, ask him about the Camel Trophy, the dinosaur eggs, or the agate that came home from Holland.