Just as we were preparing to leave Yungaburra and the Atherton Tablelands heading west to film at the Undara Lava Tubes when I had the good fortune to meet a rather remarkable character and long term icon of the area Rene Boissevain owner
operator of the Crystal Caves in Atherton.
Rene got very excited when I mentioned I was filming a documentary series about gemstones and invited us to film his unique display.
Rene has such a passion for collecting the best gemstones from all over the world and he shares his unique collection with the public in a simulated cave experience. It’s a fantasy land where natural crystal formations and real fossils are displayed creatively for a close- up adventurous encounter.
As you enter into the simulated cave from the shop above you are greeted with tranquil music and some of the most beautiful crystal clusters and rare specimens including ancient fossils that your attention diverts from the simulated situation to a cave environment.
The collection on display also includes the largest complete Amethyst geode in the world “The Empress of Uruguay” oh how beautiful she is,standing 3.5 meters tall and weighing in at 2.7 tons with thousands of perfect “AA” (jewellery quality) Amethyst crystals throughout the geode, she truly is a spectacular specimen. 
Photography does not do her justice, you have to see her and feel her , yes you can touch her, but the atmosphere in the Temple were she rests is so majestic that one hesitates to touch something so precious. 
But it was a bit of a Murphy day for us; you know the sort of day that makes you think you should not have gotten out of bed, or wish you could restart or fast forward to tomorrow. If it could go wrong it did, I won’t go into details or rehash but thank God we pushed through and finally got a good result in the end, it’s now all up to our editor. But thankyou to Rene & staff for being so patient with us.The following day after four months we left the Tablelands heading west to film the Undara lava tubs. http://www.undara.com.au/
It is said that “190,000 years ago Mother Nature created this rare volcanic phenomena, when a massive volcano erupted and sent the lava spewing 90 kilometres to the north and 160 kilometres to the
North West. 
It is estimated around 23 cubic kilometres at a temperature of 1,200 degrees Celsius flowed from the volcano, at a rate of about 1,000 cubic metres every second. A lava flow this large could fill Sydney Harbour in six days.” 
Over thousands of years large sections of the roof have collapsed, that today harbour remnant rain forest vegetation. These rain forest pockets contain plants also found in Madagascar & East Africa having evolved from the time of Gondwana,before the breakup of the continents.
What a fascinating day we had, totally cared for by Andrew the CEO and Bram Collins sixth generation owner of Undara. The Collins family have worked and explored this land since 1860’s but in 1990 opened it up for tourism and what they have created is a credit to them, while supporting a very fragile eco-system. It was genuine outback hospitality which made for a very enjoyable experience, along with the opportunity for an underground swim what more could one want, a Big Thank you to all at Undara who made our day.
Needless to say Murphy was nowhere around that day thank goodness!
It is estimated around 23 cubic kilometres at a temperature of 1,200 degrees Celsius flowed from the volcano, at a rate of about 1,000 cubic metres every second. A lava flow this large could fill Sydney Harbour in six days.” 
Over thousands of years large sections of the roof have collapsed, that today harbour remnant rain forest vegetation. These rain forest pockets contain plants also found in Madagascar & East Africa having evolved from the time of Gondwana,before the breakup of the continents. What a fascinating day we had, totally cared for by Andrew the CEO and Bram Collins sixth generation owner of Undara. The Collins family have worked and explored this land since 1860’s but in 1990 opened it up for tourism and what they have created is a credit to them, while supporting a very fragile eco-system. It was genuine outback hospitality which made for a very enjoyable experience, along with the opportunity for an underground swim what more could one want, a Big Thank you to all at Undara who made our day.
Needless to say Murphy was nowhere around that day thank goodness!
Check this out! Undara Lava Tubes Underwater
www.youtube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJhjl1B_-sI&feature=player_detailpage
1 comment:
Surprisingly interresting, once you start reading its like a door in your imagination suddenly opens reviling a whole new world you never even knew existed! Really grate stuff! :)
A fulton
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