Mildura - Woodsies Gem Shop - Mallee

Mildura - Woodsies Gem Shop

Woodsies Gem shop showcases some of Australia's most valuable jewellery, with over 6,000 pieces of gemstones.

There is also a Huge Garden Crazy Maze that is about an acre that is covered by over 200 types of flowering creepers and ground creepers plus an Aladdin's cave of glowing gems and crystals from around the world. There is a workshop where gems are cut and polished.

Opening Hours:

Open 7 days from 9 am to 5:30pm excluding Christmas Day.

Cost:

Free admission to the shop. There is a small admission charge for Aladdin's Cave and maze. Adults: $2 and Children under 14 years: $1 (June 2019)

Review:

The place is very distinctive because the interior is constructed to look like a cave with stalactites dripping from the roof. The main shop area has a large number of display cabinets packed full of a vast array of rings, pendants and minerals, all arranged by mineral or gem. There are items to purchase in all price ranges including minerals for a couple of dollars for the kids.

There is a maze and Aladdin's Cave which have very low entry prices. The kids enjoyed Aladdin's Cave which has displays of crystals, fossils and mineral carvings from around the world.

The maze has chicken wire walls covered with a nice variety of plants, wide paths, some lookout towers and a number of gates which you can only pass through in one direction. We were given some advice - head towards the road on the far right end and then find a direct path back to the other end. You then reach a sign which says "Congratulations 1/2 way" and are confronted by a choice of four gates. Pick the right gate and you should mange to extricate yourself from the maze. We found that you could easily use methodical methods to get to the halfway point but after that it was a lot more difficult with a lot of combinations of paths and gates. Some gates lead to the start point and you need to try again or use the "give up" gate. Overall it took close to 45 minutes to pass through the maze. Make sure you take enough water with you.

There are some shaded tables and a playground outside. The cafe serves meals and snacks.