The Mystery Craters

35 small sandstone craters of disputed origin, 25 km south of Bundaberg

Address Goodwood Road, South Kolan

The Mystery Craters are a curious geological feature on a privately run roadside property south of Bundaberg — 35 small sandstone-rimmed pits, generally about a metre across and several metres deep, set in a small area of paddock. Their origin is genuinely uncertain; the property has been working since 1971 to convert the puzzle into a small tourist attraction with cabins, a café, and a colouring-in book about the craters.

It is more curiosity than spectacle — fifteen minutes will cover it — but if you are driving south to Childers or Hervey Bay, it is on the route. Small admission. Cabins available for an overnight stop.

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A story
The craters were uncovered in 1971 by a farmer ploughing his sugar paddock. They were declared a national geological monument; competing theories include meteorite cluster, ancient mud volcanoes, fossilised tree-fern stumps, and (the official current view) leaching from underground gas pockets. Nobody knows.

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