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!
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.]
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.
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Thanks so much for your blog.heading down the south island in September and October so will visit some of the beaches you have mentioned.which were your favorites if it’s possible to say.Only going as far south as Palmerston and heading west from there.cheers
Hi! Thanks for your comments. Three of the beaches that are well worth visiting are 1) where State Highway One reaches the Kaikoura Coast, about 10 kms south of Ward (difficult to get a park right at that point but worth trying, and it is probably ok a little further south) – by the way, I didn’t go to Ward Beach but have been told it has interesting fossils in its stones. 2) Birdlings Flat – it takes a while to get through Christchurch and out to there (can be an hour or so, just south of Banks Peninsula) but it is probably the best-known South Island beach for stone collecting. 3) near Kakanui, just south of Oamaru (intersection of Thousand Acre Road and Seadown Road). Hope this helps.