June 2020 – TumbleStone

Four Polished Stones from Gemstone Beach

In my office at home is a bookcase on the top of which is displayed a small number of polished stones from three locations: Riverton, Gemstone Beach, and Birdlings Flat. These stones were picked at random when I moved into my new home seven months ago, being ones that I found intriguing and interesting mainly for their colours and patterns.

Here are four of the Gemstone Beach stones. The first one is a green banded argillite stone. Its fine lines draw my eye.

The bookcase top in my office.

Gemstone Beach, Orepuki.

Banded argillite stone.

Other side of banded argillite stone.

The second stone is of a type that is unknown to me. I find its white colour and subtle brown patterns attractive.

Unknown polished stone from Gemstone Beach.

Other side of unknown polished stone from Gemstone Beach.

The third stone is of a different shape and darker colour, with angular criss-crossing lace-like etchings.

Unknown type of stone from Gemstone Beach.

Other side of unknown type of stone from Gemstone Beach.

The fourth stone is cut by a fault-line, difficult to see among a jumbled complex of wavy lines, shapes and colours.

Complex patterned stone from Gemstone Beach.

Other side of complex patterned stone from Gemstone Beach.

End of South Island Stone Collecting Trip, May/June 2020 – Days 19 to 22

The following are the last of my personal Facebook Posts on my trip, which were also posted in the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. The first five days of my trip can be found here.

Day Nineteen, Visit to Beaches North of Kakanui – I stopped off at about four places along the stony beaches just north of Kakanui. The bright sun dried out stones and made it hard to see their colours.

One of the places I parked.

I spent a lot of time nosing around the back of the beach. These boulders look like they were placed here to prevent erosion – the former coast road here has disappeared due to the sea’s encroachment.

The tide was going out. The stones dried in the sun. But sometimes the shade kept some stones wet.

At the southern end of the stony part of the coast are some rocks with a few stones piled up against them

The lower layer of the rock consisted of this dense breccia of very small pebbles – see next photo.

But I managed to find a few worth tumble polishing, especially quartzites and some jaspers. I didn’t see any agates.

Light cream quartzite.

I picked up a lot of small grey quartzites, which will polish well.

Green quartzite.

Jasper.

Unusual shaped jasper.

Side A.

Side B.

This stone was too large to take home, but worthy of a photo.

Yellow quartzite.

Stained quartz.

Quartzite.

An interesting quartzite, a larger stone but able to be polished in my 12lb barrel.

Day Twenty, Last Visit to Kakanui Beach on This Trip – I spent four hours on the stony beach two kilometres north of Kakanui. It was 1 degree when I arrived at 10 am, and it stayed cold. Hat, scarf, gloves and a thick coat were all necessities today. Today was cloudy, which meant that nearly all the stones on the beach stayed wet! That made fossicking so much easier than yesterday. I met a local couple walking their dog and picking up rubbish (bless them!). They told me that sometimes there are very few stones on the beach, and changes can occur from day to day. But today, they said, was excellent for someone like me. I found many very nice quartzites and red jaspers and a few other kinds of stones.

The view on the drive from Oamaru to Kakanui today.

An exquisite small stone, one of the last I found today.

The other side of the previous stone.

A little beaten up, but a beaut!

Side A.

Side B.

Jasper.

Another bashed about but gorgeous pebble.

Other side of previous stone.

I find silica veins intriguing.

Another gorgeous small stone.

Side A.

Side B.

The white blaze on this stone caught my eye.

I stashed my finds in three different places as I made my way about a kilometre along the beach (it felt like two or three kilometres but I checked on Google Maps). I had to make sure I could remember these places so chose very large drift wood pieces. Gathering the stashes up on the way back made the last 300 metres an effort, but it was worth it.

My first stash of stones was at this large up-right driftwood branch. The stones across the beach were wet so I found some good ones even at the back here.

My second stash of stones was left at the end of this “pointer”.

My third stash was near this large driftwood tree trunk.

A stunning small black and white pebble.

Small flat stone.

Small spherical stone.

Outstanding jasper.

Close-up of jasper stone.

Quartzite.

Yellow quartzite. There were many of this type of stone on the beach.

I think this is a limonite prase.

Probably a quartzite.

Green quartzite.

Day Twenty-One, Oamaru to Christchurch – Today I stopped off at Patiti Beach (Timaru), Browns Beach (near Temuka) and Wakanui Beach (to the east of Ashburton). The kind of stones I am interested in for tumble polishing are few and far between on these beaches but an hour’s fossicking does prove productive, especially for small quartzites and jaspers.

Patiti Beach is located right within the boundaries of the city of Timaru:

South Canterbury landscape view. Irrigation equipment in foreground.

The parking area at Patiti Beach, Timaru (not my car).

Patiti Beach.

Patiti Beach stones.

Find of the day.

Browns Beach is on the coast east of Temuka:

Browns Beach. Timaru is far away in the distance across the bay, straight ahead, centre.

Dark purple pebble,

Nice grey quartzite, a bit bigger than the other stones I collected here.

One side of a small quartzite.

Other side of a small quartzite.

The parking area at Browns Beach (my car).

Wakanui Beach is east of Ashburton:

Wakanui Beach is about 20 kilometres east of Ashburton.

Parking area at Wakanui Beach, looking south.

Wakanui Beach.

South Canterbury beach agate, the only one I found.

Small, oval and smooth quartzite pebble.

Sun falling over Mid-Canterbury.

Day Twenty-Two, Final Day Visiting Beaches, Gore Bay and Kekerengu – I’ve now clocked up over 3,000 kms, reached Ward tonight, catching the Cook Strait ferry tomorrow (if it’s not too stormy). After leaving Christchurch this morning, I stopped off at Gore Bay, just to the east of Cheviot. Lots of grey stones on the beach, with the odd dash of white or colour. An hour’s fossick yielded a few interesting stones, often a bit bashed about.

Gore Bay, looking south. The small segment of wet stones was where I spent my time.

At the far north of Gore Bay.

Gore Bay, looking north. I found a handful of colourful quartzites. Jasper was also present.

Lovely quartzite stone.

Close-up of quartzite stone.

Small green pebble,

There were a number of small black and white stones on the beach.

Close-up of black and white stone.

Another nice grey quartzite.

Close-up of grey quartzite.

Later I stopped off on the Kaikoura coast at the beach north of Kekerengu, not far from where the road leaves the coast to head to Ward. The sun was dropping but I wanted to revisit this beach – on my way south I had found some interesting limestone stones with trace fossils in them. I collected a few more to aid my study and understanding of them. Today was a warm day, up to 20 degrees. A storm is coming.

The beach north of Kekerengu along the Kaikoura coast. Looking north.

The fading light and colour or shininess of the stones meant that my camera usually didn’t quite get the stones in focus.

There are a number of types of limestone stones, some white, some grey, some cream. Many have dark grey layers and/or traces.

I had to wait 30 minutes for road works at one point. Nearby was this heron, and…

…at least 20 or 30 seals on the rocks.

[The storm arrived the next day, the day I crossed Cook Strait on the car ferry. A planned trip to Ward Beach in the morning was not able to take place.]

South Island Stone Collecting Trip, May/June 2020 – Days 16 to 18

The following are Facebook Posts on my trip made for family and friends, as well as for the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. The first five days of my trip can be found here.

Day Sixteen, Ninth Visit to Gemstone Beach – Since I don’t leave Riverton until tomorrow, I decided to make one more visit to Gemstone Beach this morning, 30 kilometres away. The day was so nice and I had such a productive fossick yesterday that I couldn’t resist the temptation. Ended up spending nearly four hours in the sunshine.

Gemstone Beach on a sunny winter morning.

Same view as previous photo but standing on top of the bank of stones.

Nice quartz. Graduated colour and interesting shape.

While there was little wind on the beach, further out, the wind whipped the breakers.

I’m always interested in stones that look vaguely like fossil worm casts but are not. This brecciated stone was too big to take home so I took a photo of it.

Detail of large brecciated stone.

A dry stone. When wet….

…the colours become apparent.

Not as many great finds today compared to yesterday but I picked up some nice stones for tumble polishing.

Small light green quartzite.

Close-up of small light green quartzite.

Close-up of black and white stone.

I am always interested in black and white stones.

A few holes and scratches but interesting composition, as shown in next photo.

Probably an argillite.

I call this a “one-sider”, because….

…the other side is bashed about. I usually return such stones to the beach as they will not tumble polish smoothly. But I like the colours in this one too much and so will polish it for the quality of “one side”.

Met a couple of people on the beach, one from Montana and another from Riverton (who said she had learned tumble polishing from my Blog!), and had interesting chats about stones.

White hydrogrossular garnet.

Close-up of white hydrogrossular garnet.

Climbing up the bank of stones, I spotted this….

…a green hydrogrossular garnet.

The green hydrogrossular garnet is partly translucent. I gave it to the fellow tumble polisher I met on the beach near the Taunoa Stream on my way back to the carpark.

A minute later, I found this nice white hydrogrossular garnet.

A stone with a fault-line in it.

Day Seventeen, Henderson Bay, Riverton – Had a quick visit to the bay in Riverton where I had summer holidays when growing up. It’s the last little bay before the Back Beach.

Bluff Hill in the far distance, across the water. The Back Beach, on Foveaux Strait, is around the corner to the right.

The steps down to Henderson Bay. Stones are scattered along the sandy beach, with a few drifts here and there.

Looking towards Riverton town from Henderson Bay on a gloomy winter’s morning

There are lots of interesting rock masses along the beach, including argillite and pillow lava.

This partially-hidden rock pool was my favourite place on the beach when I was small.

The rock pool.

Our former crib (holiday house) is at the top of the hill behind Henderson Bay, now owned by a different family.

Cold wind this morning so I needed all my warm weather gear. The stones at Henderson Bay are similar to those at the Back Beach and, to a lesser degree, Gemstone Beach. Generally speaking, there are fewer of them and of less quality here.

Small quartzite found this morning.

Detail of small quartzite.

Another small quartzite.

Close-up of quartzite.

This stone has a softish feel, waxy but dry. I have found a couple more like this in the area in the past. I suspect it may be a kind of petrified wood.

I can always find a handful of fossil worm cast stones at Henderson Bay.

Small fossil worm cast stone.

Iron stained quartz.

Day Eighteen, Gore to Oamaru – I drove from Gore to Oamaru and stopped off at Hampden and the beaches between the Waianakarua River mouth and Kakanui. I decided that the stones on the beach just north of Kakanui were so great that I’ll be going back there again on Sunday and Monday. Cold but sunny weather, the lack of wind and rain is appreciated.

Stream across the beach at Hampden, North Otago.

There was a lot of white quartz with interesting shapes at Hampden.

The beach just north of the Waianakarua River mouth.

Small beach agate found just north of the Waianakarua River mouth.

A green-stained quartz found just north of the Waianakarua River mouth.

This stone, found just north of the Waianakarua River mouth, could be petrified wood.

Found on the beach just north of Kakanui – small smooth grey quartzite pebble.

Kakanui yellow quartzite.

Detail of yellow quartzite.

See here for the next Post in this Series.

South Island Stone Collecting Trip, May/June 2020 – Days 11 to 15

As mentioned in the first Post of this Series, I am undertaking a three-week stone collecting trip to the South Island by car. I am posting up-dates on Facebook for family and friends, as well as in the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”, then re-posting them here.

Day Eleven, Fourth Visit to Gemstone Beach – Nearly did not undertake this visit this morning as it is cold and wet here. But some of us are crazy! (and have very warm coats!). It was 5 degrees and windy when I arrived at Gemstone Beach at 9.30 am but the wind died down for most of the 90 minutes I was on the beach. Some rain and hail showers passed through. I took only a handful of photos of the scene due to the cold. I took photos of stones later when I got back to the crib at Riverton. These are the six most interesting (to me) stones I found this morning.

A cold grey day on Gemstone Beach.

Product of a hail storm.

Find of the day! I’ve not seen a fossil worm cast stone of this colour before.

Detail of trace fossils.

Highly patterned argillite.

Close-up of argillite.

Hematite jasper, similar to the Stone of the Lockdown.

Close-up of hematite jasper.

A small banded argillite, found on the beach in front of the carpark as I was leaving.

Other side of small banded argillite.

A small stone with polishing potential.

Close-up.

One side of final stone for today.

Other side of final stone for today.

Day Twelve, Fifth Visit to Gemstone Beach – Another cold and wet and windy day, lightning and rainbows and hail all part of the beach experience. But with good wet weather gear on, I managed to stay on the beach for nearly three hours (got to make the most of my time here!).

The carpark at Gemstone Beach.

Gemstone Beach waves today.

These waves churn up the stones as they break and rush up the beach.

Panorama photo of a rainbow over Gemstone Beach.

At least the rain kept all the beach stones wet which meant the colours and patterns in them were easily seen.

I was very disappointed with the photos of my stones today. I took the photos back where I am staying at Riverton, but a lack of sunlight did not help. Here are five of the stones I collected for tumble polishing.

I have been looking out for this type of stone, a deep green argillite with red markings, probably fossil worm traces.

Close-up of trace fossils.

Gorgeous small stone, probably argillite.

Other side of small argillite.

Close-up of small argillite.

Not sure of the type of stone, nor how well it will polish, but I like its markings.

Close-up of previous stone.

Nice small brecciated stone.

Close-up of brecciated stone.

Gorgeous stone, maybe some kind of quartz. Will be interesting to see how tumble polishing wears away the cream material.

Close-up of previous stone.

Day Thirteen, Sixth Visit to Gemstone Beach – Cold again but very little wind and practically no rain, good sunshine, so my photos turned out much better. Spent two and a half hours there, not going too far in either direction from the carpark. Three or four groups of people also on the beach though most did not venture past the Taunoa Stream which was quite high.

Information Display at Orepuki, about one kilometre from Gemstone Beach.

From Information Display.

The cliffs of Gemstone Beach, with the Taunoa Stream running high in the foreground. This stream, about 300 metres from the carpark, often stops tourists from going further west along Gemstone Beach. More serious fossickers need to ford it, and it is often not too difficult to do so.

Looking back towards the Taunoa Stream which is at the end of the nearest cliff segment.

The same view as the previous one, but from a different angle.

I found a couple of good hydrogrossular garnets today and a few interesting fossil worm cast stones.

A white hydrogrossular garnet.

A “porcelain-type” hydrogrossular garnet. The dark material is commonly found with these stones.

Argillite with faint fossil worm traces.

Larger argillite stone with typical fossil worm traces.

Small stone with fossil worm trace bisected by dark vein.

Found on the edge of the Taunoa Stream on my way back to the carpark.

I also found a few nice stones for tumble polishing, and one that’s too big bit still worth taking home.

A small stone.

Delicate lines.

Bright colour.

Complex composition.

I call these “marble-type” stones though they are more likely iron-stained quartz. But when polished they look like patterned marble.

Another “marble-type” stone.

Brecciated stone.

This stunning stone is just a little too big to tumble polish so I usually leave ones like these on the beach. As I have my car here, and as this is really very nice, I decided to take it with me as a specimen stone.

Day Fourteen, Seventh Visit to Gemstone Beach – Due to coldness and some fatigue, and to having other commitments in the afternoon, I did not make a Post about this beach visit. I took very few photos on the beach, despite being there for two and a half hours. Here are some of them.

A handful of small stones. Three hydrogrossular garnets and two banded argillites.

Hydrogrossular garnet.

Another hydrogrossular garnet.

Find of the day, a pale quartzite.

Close-up of one side of quartzite.

Other side of quartzite.

Close-up of other side of quartzite.

Day Fifteen, Eighth Visit to Gemstone Beach – Probably my last morning on Gemstone Beach for this trip south. Spent just over three hours on the beach in the company of my sister Helen again. About 10 to 11 degrees, some wind which died down, partly cloudy.

Sunrise over Taramea Bay, Riverton, just outside the crib that is my base. Gemstone Beach is about 30 kilometres away.

Sunrise over Taramea Bay, Riverton, again.

In front of the carpark, Gemstone Beach, a few passing tourists and maybe a fossicker or two.

The “crumbling cliffs” of Gemstone Beach. My green backpack for scale.

Drifting tree roots.

Many blue bottles had been washed up on Gemstone Beach today.

Had a good fossicking morning, finding a very rare fossil coral, a couple of nice hydrogrossular garnets, some fossil worm casts, and a few other stones with promise for tumble polishing.

Top of the fossil coral stone I found. Very rare on Gemstone Beach.

Close-up of top of fossil coral.

Side of fossil coral stone.

Close-up of side of fossil coral stone.

Green hydrogrossular garnet.

Brown hydrogrossular garnet.

Argillite with well-defined fossil worm traces.

One side of small fossil worm cast stone.

Other side of small fossil worm cast stone.

Trace fossils.

Cream coloured argillite with faint fossil worm traces.

Close-up of previous stone.

Likely to tumble polish well.

Close-up.

Small banded argillite stone with fault line.

Close-up of fault line on small banded argillite stone.

Volcanic stone with gaseous bubbles filled with quartz.

Close-up of volcanic stone.

See here for the next Post in this Series.

Final Alert Level Two Stone, Monday 8 June – Stone 12, Light-Coloured Maroon Stone from Gemstone Beach

Today, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the country will move to Alert Level One from midnight tonight. There are now no active cases of people with Covid-19 in the country, with an official death toll of 22 from the virus.

aaa — No active cases of Covid-19 in any region of New Zealand. Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz

The vast majority of restrictions, such as limits on the size of gatherings, will be lifted. To all practical purposes, life will be “normal” except for tight border restrictions. So this stone is the last in the various series of “pandemic stones”.

Stone 11 of Level Two.

Stone 10 of Level Two.

Stone 9 of Level Two.

Stone 8 of Level Two.

Stone 7 of Level Two.

Stone 12 of Level Two is unusual because of what looks like the lines of a light coloured “wash” on its surface. The maroon colour of most of the stone appears a bit “washed out” as well.

Stone 12 of Level Two, from Gemstone Beach.

One side of Stone 12 of Level Two.

Close up of first side of Stone 12 of Level Two.

Stone 12 of Level Two.

The stone has a very complex make-up, revealed in the close-ups.

Other (second) side of Stone 12 of Level Two.

Close up of second side of Stone 12 of Level Two. Very thin silica veins, some cracking of surface.

Close up of second side of Stone 12 of Level Two. Some darker maroon patches apparent.

Close up of second side of Stone 12 of Level Two. Silica veins, the line of the cream wash.

Close up of second side of Stone 12 of Level Two.

The stone has a dullish appearance. The following images show how I treated the photographs, to deepen the colour a little compared to what came out of the camera:

The original image, straight from the camera.

Cropped version of original image.

The “saturated” cropped image, deepening the colour.

Summary Index of Stones of the Pandemic

This Index allows you to click on a link to be taken to the relevant Post. The photos give you an idea of each Stone.

A) ALERT LEVEL FOUR, NEW ZEALAND – STAY-AT-HOME

To mark the passing days of Alert Level Four, I chose a polished stone each day for 33 days.

Stone One – Small grey and white breccia from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Two – Light-coloured quartzite from Back Beach, Riverton.

Stone Three – Green metamorphic stone from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Four – Chalcedony(?) from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Five– Brecciated stone from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Six – Banded ignimbrite.

Stone Seven – Hematite jasper from Birdlings Flat.

Stone Eight – Small jasper from Birdlings Flat.

Stone Nine – Quartzite from Birdlings Flat.

Stone Ten – Small black and brown stone from Birdlings Flat.

Stone Eleven – Green hydrogrossular garnet from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Twelve – Small red-brown stone from Birdlings Flat.

Stone Thirteen – Petrified wood from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Fourteen – Pinkish-brown stone from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Fifteen – Greenish-grey argillite with fossil worm casts from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Sixteen – Dolerite(?) from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Seventeen – Green fossilised worm cast stone from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Eighteen – “South Coast marble type” stone from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Nineteen – Black fossilised worm cast stone from Gemstone Beach

Stone Twenty – Yellow quartzite from Birdlings Flat.

Stone Twenty-One – Medium-green argillite with fossil worm cast traces.

Stone Twenty-Two – White hydrogrossular garnet from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Twenty-Three – Light brown volcanic stone from Birdlings Flat.

Stone Twenty-Four – Grey banded argillite from Gemstone Beach.

Stone Twenty-Five – Black and yellow grained stone from Gemstone Beach.

Twenty-Six – Banded agate stone from Birdlings Flat.

Twenty-Seven – Dark red quartzite from Birdlings Flat.

Twenty-Eight – Pink stone from Birdlings Flat.

Twenty-Nine – Green and yellow quartzite from Birdlings Flat.

Thirty – Grey-white quartzite from Birdlings Flat.

Thirty-One – Jasper from Gemstone Beach.

Thirty-Two – Black and white grained stone from Back Beach, Riverton.

Thirty-Three – Jasper from Waikaka.

B) LAST DAYS OF LEVEL THREE

For Alert Level Three I initially posted some children’s stories on Facebook but was then requested to recommence the Posts on stones. So I started a new series of recently polished stones for Alert Level Three, with Posts being made every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. As it turned out, only two were made before New Zealand moved to Alert Level Two. (“LDOL3” = “Last Days of Level 3”)

LDOL3 Stone #1 – Black and yellow stone from Riverton.

LDOL Stone #2 – White-cream quartzite from Gemstone Beach.

C) ALERT LEVEL TWO

This Series began with a Post on a Thursday, the start of Level Two. I then made Posts every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday throughout Level Two.

Stone 1 – Quartz from Gemstone Beach.

Stone 2 – “Marble-type” stone from Riverton.

Stone 3 – Banded argillite from Gemstone Beach.

Stone 4 – Cloudy-green stone from Riverton.

Stone 5 – Fossil worm cast stone from Gemstone Beach.

Stone 6 – Quartzite-like stone from Birdlings Flat.

Stone 7– Black-veined stone from Gemstone Beach.

Stone 8 – Green breccia stone from Riverton.

Stone 9 – Jasper from Birdlings Flat.

Stone 10 – White-grey stone from Gemstone Beach.

Stone 11 – Dark grey banded stone from Birdlings Flat.

Stone 12 – Light-coloured maroon stone from Gemstone Beach.

Alert Level Two, Saturday 6 June – Stone 11, Dark Grey Banded Stone from Birdlings Flat

Stone 10 of Level Two.

Stone 9 of Level Two.

Stone 8 of Level Two.

Stone 7 of Level Two.

Stone 6 of Level Two.

Dark stones abound on the beaches of the South Island, and generally I ignore them. They seem common and uninteresting to me. However, every now and then one such stone attracts my attention because upon closer inspection it proves intriguing. It is the alternating dark and light bands of this stone that drew my eye.

Stone 11 of Level Two, from Birdlings Flat.

One side of Stone 11 of Level Two.

Other side of Stone 11 of Level Two.

Stone 11 of Level Two.

I don’t know what kind of stone this is. It is relatively thin and flat – it would be an excellent stone to skim across the water’s surface.

Stone 11 of Level Two.

Close-up of Stone 11 of Level Two.

This close-up of Stone 11 of Level Two shows what could be a thin vein of lighter coloured quartz.

Close-up of Stone 11 of Level Two.

There appears to be a scratch down one side of the stone, possible made in the tumbling barrel. But closer inspection shows the “scratch” continues over the bottom of the stone and slightly up the other side. It is more likely to be something like a very thin vein of quartz.

In preparing the close-ups, I found that darkening the image first (using “Shadow” in Picasa) and then brightening it (using “Highlight”) produced the best result – these bring out the bands and show the grain more clearly:

The original image, cropped from a photo of the stone.

The image darkened.

Using “Highlight” to produce the final image.

South Island Stone Collecting Trip, May/June 2020 – Days Six to Ten

The stones of the Back Beach, Riverton.

The cliffs to the left of the carpark. Stones in the foreground.

The lagoon of the Waimeamea River, created by the piling up of stones on the right, preventing the river from reaching the sea, though it seeps through the stones. The lagoon is twice the size I have previously seen.

Seagulls at Gemstone Beach

The snow-capped mountains of Eastern Fiordland, from Gemstone Beach. A wild sea generated some powerful waves.

The kind of small stone that will likely look stunning after polishing.

Delicate veins.

Gorgeous colours. This stone was too big to tumble polish so I left it on the beach.

A stunning stone, probably a quartzite.

Day Six, Gore to Riverton, Visit to Back Beach – A cold but sunny day in the south! Arrived at Riverton at lunchtime. Visited the Back Beach for about 45 minutes as the late afternoon sun was going down. Were a few people there, enjoying the end of the first long weekend under Alert Level Two.

The stones of the Back Beach, Riverton.

The end of the road at the Back Beach, a popular place for holiday-makers.

The kind of small stone that will likely look stunning after polishing.

Made interesting by the yellow veins.

Likely to be argillite, a mudstone.

Probably petrified wood.

The grey material looks porous and not likely to polish. Will tumble this one and see what happens.

Could be interesting.

Will polish well.

A lot of small fragments compressed together?

The stones on the Back Beach are a very mixed bunch. Most are rough and don’t look good candidates for polishing. However, I have often been surprised at how well they turn out after spending time in the tumbler barrel. The key is to see the potential of the colours and patterns. I found very few fossil worm cast stones despite them having been much easier to find earlier this year.

Looking from the Back Beach across a calm Foveaux Strait to Rakiura/Stewart Island.

Small banded ignimbrite.

Small chipped fossil worm cast stone.

Fossil worm cast stone.

Day Seven, First Visit to Gemstone Beach – Warmish cloudy day, spent three hours on Gemstone Beach with my sister Helen. About 10 other people were on the beach at different times as well, one was a local collector of hydrogrossular garnets I had met before, and three were Czech people stranded in NZ by the Covid-19 pandemic, undertaking a South Island tour in Level Two. Helen and I first went to the left of the carpark where stones are not usually deposited on the beach. Today there was a good selection there.

Looking to the left from the carpark – there were two or three large drifts of stones along the beach here, which is unusual.

The cliffs to the left of the carpark. Stones in the foreground.

Panaroma of the Taunoa Stream which is to the right of the carpark. There is a small lagoon here now when on previous visits there was just a stream running into the sea. The figure to the left of centre is my sister Helen.

Delicate veins.

A complex small stone.

Quartzite-type stone.

Small green and white stone.

Very interesting inclusions in small dark stone.

We then dropped our initial finds off in the car before walking to the right, past the Taunoa Stream. About 500 metres in that direction we started to find a few small hydrogrossular garnets. Overall, many interesting stones on the beach.

Gorgeous green quartzite.

Gorgeous colours. This stone was too big to tumble polish so I left it on the beach.

White hydrogrossular garnet, one of the bigger ones I found, though it is still small.

Hydrogrossular garnet – quite a thin slice-like piece.

Fossil worm cast stone with unusually dark traces.

Probably petrified wood.

Brecciated stone.

Small black and white stone.

Day Eight, Second Visit to Gemstone Beach – Another warm day, spent four hours on Gemstone Beach with my sister Helen. We timed our arrival for just after high tide and decided to move westwards along the beach towards the Waimeamea River mouth, just over one kilometre away. However, we were initially unable to cross the Taunoa Stream so spent 30 minutes or so on the beach near the carpark until the tide went out a bit more and the Taunoa Stream went down. We then made our way towards the Waimeamea River, arriving there about two and a half hours later, collecting stones all the way.

The Taunoa Stream upon our arrival. At the top, the waves are bringing in water (white foam) which is keeping the water level high and keeping the outflow (lower flow) strong. Once the tide receded a bit more, the outflow reduced in size so we could cross.

One of about 6 or 7 seepages from the lagoon. Eventually, as the stones are washed away, a channel can be formed for the Waimeamea River to discharge directly into the sea, until the tide comes in and piles up stones here again.

Tumble polishing should make this even more interesting.

A stunning stone, probably a quartzite.

An unusual clay-like colour as a fine matrix to pieces of quartz and some silica veins.

A stone made up of tiny fragments, in a yellow wash.

Rhyolite, a volcanic rock.

Great range of greens here.

Another hour saw us back at the carpark, just as a cooler breeze was getting up. We found a few hydrogrossular garnets, as well as some nice specimens of fossil worm cast stones, along with a good number of colourful and interesting patterned stones likely to respond well to tumble polishing.

Gemstone Beach stones of the size that is common for most of the beach.

Some of the larger Gemstone Beach stones that appear as you move closer to the Waimeamea River mouth, though smaller ones continue to predominate.

Nice small grey hydrogrossular garnet with some yellow at bottom.

Small hydrogrossular garnet.

Tan coloured hydrogrossular garnet. garnet.

This doesn’t look like a hydrogrossular garnet but I have seen it grouped with the other type in the Riverton Museum and seen references to a chalk-like variety.

Similar to previous photo but more smooth and with a pink blush. I refer to these as a “porcelain-type” hydrogrossular garnet because of its fine white character.

Fossil worm cast stone. The trace rising from the bottom left is chevron-shaped, known as ichnogenus Protovirgularia, a general term for the trace fossil shape irrespective of its size and what may have produced it.

Similar shape trace fossil, different type of stone and colour.

An elongated ichnogenus Protovirgularia.

Spot the ichnogenus Protovirgularia… There are three or four here.

Fossil worm trails emerging out of the stone.

A large specimen of a quartzite-type rock. I left it on the beach as it is far too big to tumble polish.

Day Nine – Too wet and windy, stayed inside.

Day Ten, Third Visit to Gemstone Beach – A cold front moved through yesterday and the temperature has dropped. However, I dressed warmly and headed to the beach. Ended up spending five hours there. Arrived just before high tide, and the waves were high and powerful, forcing me initially to look for stones at the foot of the cliff at the back of the beach.

The snow-capped mountains of Eastern Fiordland, photo taken from just outside Orepuki.

The snow-capped mountains of Eastern Fiordland, from Gemstone Beach. A wild sea generated some powerful waves.

The occasional wave lapping over the stone bank at Waimeamea River mouth/lagoon.

On my way up the beach, westwards, I kept close to the cliffs, the safest place to be. The stones were wet as they were in the shade, so fossicking was good.

On this little ledge of stones, I found a couple of interesting stones…

This is the first I found on the ledge.

Close-up of previous stone.

And a little further along the ledge was this larger stone…

It has some great fossil worm casts. It is too big to tumble polish but I decided to take it home as an excellent example of such trace fossils.

A different type of fossil worm cast stone.

Close-up of fossil worm casts on previous stone.

A small lumpy stone found on my way back, 250 metres from the car park. I am fairly certain that the lumps are fossil worm casts.

Making the lumps (fossil casts) more visible by manipulating the image.

I went about one kilometre past the Waimeamea River mouth, further than I have gone before. I dropped off a couple of stashes of stones along the way to pick up when returning, so my backpack would remain as light as long as possible, though by the time I got back to the carpark it was quite heavy!

The bright colour of this stone grabbed my attention.

A more subdued colour…

Close-up of previous stone.

A closer inspection reveals the complex character of this stone…

Close-up view of previous stone.

Part of the beach where sand predominates along with driftwood. There, I found…

…this interesting stone.

It is a banded argillite.

Maybe reminiscent of the planet Jupiter.

Silica veins are always interesting.

A thicker vein.

See here for the next Post in this Series.

Alert Level Two, Wednesday 3 June – Stone 10, White-Grey Stone from Gemstone Beach

Stone 9 of Level Two.

Stone 8 of Level Two.

Stone 7 of Level Two.

Stone 6 of Level Two.

Stone 5 of Level Two.

This stone recently came out of a large (12lb) barrel of stones from Gemstone Beach. I don’t know what type of stone it is, but I find its smoothness and shadings of grey attractive.

Stone 10 of Level Two, from Gemstone Beach.

One side of Stone 10 of Level Two.

Other side of Stone 10 of Level Two.

Stone 10 of Level Two.

Despite its apparent smoothness, the close-ups reveal tiny holes and ruts, as well as the complexity of its patterns.

Close-up of Stone 10 of Level Two.

Stone 10 of Level Two.

Close-up of Stone 10 of Level Two.

South Island Stone Collecting Trip, May/June 2020 – First Five Days

The beach just north of Kekerenga, looking south.

Autumn foliage in North Canterbury.

This photo captures the scale of the cliffs at the end of the beach that abuts onto Banks Peninsula.

The 4-5 metres high cliff at the back of the beach.

Beach just north of Kakanuii.

Distinctive trace fossil trail.

Jasper or maybe quartzite?

Green quartzite.

Gorgeous quartzite.

Gold quartzite.

On 14 May, New Zealand moved to Covid-19 Alert Level Two, lifting the majority of lockdown restrictions while maintaining physical distancing. It’s now been more than a week since New Zealand had a new Covid-19 case and there is currently only one active case left in the country. The move to Level Two means travel is now possible to different parts of the country. I have taken the opportunity to embark upon a three-week stone collecting trip to the South Island by car, crossing Cook Strait by ferry on Wednesday 27 May. The following are the up-dates I posted on Facebook for the first five days of the trip.

Day One, Wellington/Picton to Cheviot – Stopped on the beach some 60 kms north of Kaikoura and found lots of interesting white stones with dark shapes on them. Some of the shapes were very reminiscent of worm cast fossil traces – I will need to do a bit of research and sort out any connection. I found a few other types of stones as well. There were also lots of roadworks and seals along the coast.

The beach just north of Kekerenga, looking south.

It was the light grey stones that drew my attention.

Inland from the beach.

A lot of road works and road protection is still being undertaken in the wake of the massive 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.

Waiting at a stop/go, I glanced down at the beach and saw…

…a number of seal pups playing around the rocks.

[The stones are probably some kind of limestone and the dark shapes are definitely trace fossils. Whether they will polish or not is questionable due to the relative softness of the stones.]

Distinctive trace fossil trail.

The only quartzite-like stone I found on the beach.

Day Two, Cheviot to Birdlings Flat – Foggy this morning on the road for the first 30 minutes, sunshine the rest of the day though it struggled to get past 13 degrees. Some brilliant autumn foliage, especially in North Canterbury. I arrived at Birdlings Flat at noon, about 6 or 7 others collecting stones on the beach too. With the sun so bright and low in the sky, it was hard to pick out details of stones but I managed to find a few of interest, especially some nice quartzites. On the way to Christchurch for the night, saw some thick cloud clinging to the top of the Port Hills. Will visit Birdlings Flat again tomorrow.

Autumn foliage in North Canterbury.

Birdlings Flat, looking north towards Banks Peninsula.

Low cloud clinging to the Port Hills near Christchurch.

[I found some typical Birdlings Flat stones with interesting colours and patterns.]

Jasper or maybe quartzite?

Petrified wood.

Quartzite.

Jasper.

Quartzite.

Interesting intrusions in this stone.

Quartzite.

Could be jasper.

Grey/white quartzite.

Gold quartzite.

Small agate piece.

Day Three, Birdlings Flat – Cloudy and cool today, but the lack of sun meant that I could see the stones better. There was a 50 metre wide strip of wet stones along the shore-line which stayed wet, showing the colours of the stones. I walked up and down this strip, not along the beach – going towards the wave-line then back from it, zigzagging down the beach.

I parked on the compacted stones, not venturing past thos warning sign.

This photo captures the scale of the cliffs at the end of the beach that abuts onto Banks Peninsula.

My backpack, marking my movement up and down the beach.

In the three hours I was there, I found quite a few interesting stones, mainly quartzites, in a relatively small space (about 300 metres of the beach).

Gorgeous green quartzite.

Green quartzite.

Quartzite with a dash of gold and orange.

Petrified wood.

Striped jasper?

A kind of breccia?

Quartzite.

Small gold quartzite.

Larger gold quartzite.

Even larger gold quartzite.

Another type of gold quartzite.

Day Four, Christchurch to Oamaru, Side Trip to Beach near Hinds – On my way to Oamaru, I turned eastwards at Hinds (100 kms south of Christchurch) to come out at the coast after about 20 kms just north of the Rangitata River mouth. It is said that stones brought down from the Alps by this river eventually make their way to Birdlings Flat (100 kms away). And the evidence supports that view. In the 90 minutes I was there, I collected a few quartzites of the type that can also be found at Birdlings, a few of which are quite stunning. There were quite a few jasper stones on the beach, and I found one small agate fragment.

The beach on the coast near Hinds.

The 4-5 metres high cliff at the back of the beach.

Gorgeous quartzite.

The kind of gold quartzite that is found at Birdlings Flat too.

Not sure what this stone is.

A small agate fragment with a couple of bands.

Day Five, Oamaru to Gore, Side Trip to Beach near Kakanui – Just south of Oamaru I headed to the coast near Kakanui. My friend and former University of Waikato colleague David has a holiday home there and has encouraged me to see what stones might be found on the beach. I was very pleasantly surprised to find many nice quartzites there, especially the yellow/gold ones I particularly like. Another sunny day, cool, but excellent for fossicking mainly due to the lack of wind.