At the beginning…

In February of 2016, my wife Petra and I were on holiday in the South Island of New Zealand. We had driven our own car down, crossing Cook Strait on a ferry, making our way to Golden Bay then south to Westport, down the West Coast then over Haast Pass to Te Anau and Riverton, right at the bottom of the South Island. Then we headed back north, driving up the eastern coast of the South Island, through Christchurch and Kaikoura then to Picton where we caught the ferry back to the North Island and a six hour car-ride home.

Somewhere between the West Coast and Riverton, we decided we would find out more about polishing stones. We have both always been the type who have walked beaches with our heads down, looking for interesting shells, driftwood and stones. The shells and driftwood usually found a place in the house or in the garden, but the stones that we collected have always been a problem. They just don’t look the same when they’re not wet. They tend soon to be overlooked or lost. 

I have an aunt who many years ago used to polish stones from Riverton – my grandparents had a holiday home (“crib”, in local terms) there, at Hendersons Bay, and my family usually spent a couple of weeks there every summer. 

I remember the polished stones of my aunt, collected from Riverton – I never knew how she polished them but I was impressed with the results. Petra and I decided to collect some stones on our holiday and try to polish them when we got back home. We ended up collecting more and more stones as we went along,  weighing the car down significantly.

Upon arriving home, Petra and I did some internet searching and found out about rock tumblers. We bought three and started out on a journey of learning, of experimentation and of rearranging aspects of our domestic space to make room for it all.

This Blog is a way for me to share our discoveries, to share information, and to help others who start on the same journey. I can be contacted at  john.tumblestone@gmail.com – all comments and questions welcomed.

Author: tumblestoneblog

Retired Academic, male, living in the New Zealand countryside near Whanganui with his wife as well as Jasper the dog, Fluffy the cat, Dancer and Penny, the horses, and a shed half-full of stones. Email john.tumblestone@gmail.com. View all posts by tumblestoneblog