National Lockdown Number Two: Stone Four

Day Four of New Zealand’s second National Lockdown is being marked with this small multi-coloured stone from Kakanui, North Otago.

There is one particular beach just north of Kakanui village that has much smoother stones compared to other beaches in the area, and this stone was collected from there sometime in the past 18 months. The smoother the stone, the less work in tumble polishing it, and the larger the end product will be (though this stone is quite small, being 3 cms long). The stone has polished very well, with no cracks or pits left in it. The light patches on one side caught my eye on the beach, and closer inspection revealed the interesting thin veins of red (probably iron oxide). The light violet colour dominating the other side provides an interesting contrast.

With the identification yesterday of covid-19 cases outside of Auckland (three in Wellington), and with the announcement at 1 pm today that a total of 51 cases are in this outbreak, National Lockdown has been extended until Tuesday at least, so this series of stones will also continue for at least the next few days.

Stone of the Day #5 is here.

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