Hi, ladies and gentlemen!

One of our sponsors and community members, E.C Rocks and Minerals, has graciously started planning a field excursion and get-together, more or less aimed at June 2025 (20th – 22nd). 

The plan as it stands currently is to have around 7-10 vendors (please get in touch with E.C directly if you wish to vend, contact details here), as well as a one-day guided field excursion to the Boekenhoutshoek locality, famous worldwide for spirit quartz. And yes, there will be plenty opportunity to buy!

So, some of the detail:

Dates (preliminary): 20-22 June 2025

Venue: Eden park resort (click here), approximately 220 km from Johannesburg

Accommodation: Camping or chalet

Admin fee: R250

Dealer fee: R750 (includes admin fee)

Itinerary (subject to change)

Friday (20th):

• Arrival and set-up any time after 14:00 (boerie rolls may be available)
• Welcome talk and dealers available from ~17:30
• Communal braai (Bring your own drinks and food) – ~19:30. We won’t braai for you!

Saturday (21st):

• Early morning (07:30 safety talk and travel arrangements)
• Arrangements (we will be travelling in select vehicles, in convoy, for safety. More will be circulated closer to the time)
• Travel to site 08:00 (Boekenhoutshoek, spirit quartz)
• Introduction to our guide on site
• Tour of some of the diggings (safety dependent)
• Purchasing of specimens from dealers on-site
• Travel back to Eden (in convoy, ~13:00)
• Stop in Modimolle for lunch (at your own cost!)
• Dealer spotlight – Trading, socializing, shooting the breeze until someone gets hungry or around ~19:00 (Potato salad may be available), braai, continue socializing. Remember to self-cater!

Sunday (22nd):

• Any last minute purchases from dealers
• Pack up, shake hands, say cheers, drive off with your rocks! See you next time!

How does it work?

Well, there’s a google form linked here, with a number of questions you’ll need to fill in, to indicate your interest. Regarding booking, you’ll book your accommodation for those nights directly with Eden Park, as well as settle up the admin fee with E.C Minerals. 

You’ll need to self-cater, i.e., bring your own choppie and doppie. If you’re into salad, you’ll need to bring that along too.

Right at the bottom of this page you’ll find some pictures of the accommodation.

To confirm your booking, you’ll need to shoot through to E.C Minerals proof of both your booking at Eden as well as payment of the admin fee.

What does my admin fee cover?

There is extensive set-up involved in these trips, as well as considerations like health and safety, venue planning, organizing the field trip component (never a simple task), helping those travelling from afar, gifts for our hosts (on the field trip side) and time, time time. You’re getting alot of value for your fee, and for the organizers these trips break even, if lucky. They carry extra costs you may not always be aware of!

For the dealers with the higher fee, this covers tables, chairs and somewhere to lock your stock up (this is in the process of getting organized), as well as access to a well-lit venue. If you require further lighting you’ll need to bring this along. 

What about the field excursion?

Well, you’ve probably seen and heard of spirit quartz before – aka cactus quartz, aka witches fingers, aka.. Whatever you want to call it. We’re travelling in a group to a site that is usually unsafe for individual travel, with an organized guide on the other end, to look at the diggings and buy crystals for our collections. 

We will gently ask you limit the cash on you to a maximum of R3000, in smaller denomination notes, for the overall safety of the group. If things start getting risky we will leave the site immediately, so this is in the interest of all. 

And yes, we will be asking you to sign an indemnity form!

You can find out a bit more about the site here, although note the page is outdated and we won’t be going to exactly these spots.

Things that will follow in future updates here:

Part of the point of the google form is for us to collect your email address to let you know when things update/progress. Feel free to head over to Discord or contact E.C directly with queries!

To come:

• Packing list
• Convoy arrangements
• Indemnity forms
• Site arrangements
• Travel arrangements (should you need lifts etc to/from Jhb)