Southern Sojourn 2023(6): Two Visits to Gemstone Beach, Friday & Monday 27 & 30 January

Post 6 https://tumblestoneblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/southern-sojourn-two-visits-to-gemstone-beach-friday-monday-27-30-january/

Post 7 https://tumblestoneblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/southern-sojourn-gemstone-beach-fossick-wednesday-1-february/

Post 8 https://tumblestoneblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/southern-sojourn-big-and-small-from-gemstone-beach-friday-3-february/

Post 9 https://tumblestoneblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/08/southern-sojourn-seven-stones-from-gemstone-beach-saturday-4-february/

Post 10 https://tumblestoneblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/08/southern-sojourn-foam-and-stones-gemstone-beach-tuesday-7-february/

This Post covers my second and third fossicks on Gemstone Beach since I arrived in Riverton Aparima on 21 January (see here for the first Post in this Series). On Friday, I undertook a careful fossick for three hours, venturing a few hundred metres west of the Waimeamea River mouth. The river mouth is over a kilometre from the carpark and I usually try to reach it when fossicking.

Te Waewae Bay. Source: Google Maps.

Gemstone Beach to Waimeamea River mouth. Source: Google Maps.

The Waimeamea River lagoon, Monday.

Beach stones west of the Waimeamea River mouth, Monday.

The following are some of my finds from Friday, including an unknown stone, a banded argillite and a handful of hydrogrossular garnets.

Unknown stone, could be a light coloured argillite. Seems to contain some trace fossils. Lots of interesting lines and patterns.

Other side of unknown stone.

Banded argillite.

Seven of the hydrogrossular garnets I collected.

Gorgeous hydrogrossular garnet.

I suspect this is also a hydrogrossular garnet, but not sure.

On Monday, I spent a further four hours fossicking on Gemstone Beach, walking well past the Waimeamea River mouth (see photos at top of Post). It was a warm day though cloudy. I found a number of intriguing stones. One of them is a brecciated stone, with tiny cubic crystals of pyrite in it. Another is a banded argillite that has undergone a bit of stress:

Brecciated Gemstone Beach stone.

Munted banded argillite.

A range of different coloured amygdaloidal stones can be found on Gemstone Beach. Here is one, along with what is maybe a green quartzite:

Amygdaloidal stone.

Quartzite?

Some of the other stones I collected on Monday:

Probably quartzite.

Small green stone.

Hydrogrossular garnet.

Hydrogrossular garnet.

Trace fossil in argillite.

White quartzite?

Nice smooth shiny stone.

The next Post in this Series describes another fossick on Gemstone Beach. The Index to the Series 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