Southern Sojourn 2023(21): Final Fossick Before Break, Gemstone Beach, Sunday 19 February

I’m heading home to Whanganui in two days time, but then returning to Southland after a three weeks break. Today’s Post features ten stones from my fossick today west of Gemstone Beach. The weather was windy with the odd rain shower, and the waves were rougher than they have been for a while. They had thrown up stones blocking the path of the Waimeamea River to the sea.

The first two stones are “pink”, probably being thulite, with the first being an unusual very intense pink-purple – this stone is 8 cm by 7.5 cm.

Three of the stones are “spotted”, but with otherwise very different characteristics.

The cream-coloured vein in this jasper (below) caught my attention. The photo then reveal a very mossy kind of jasper.

The final four stones: the first kind of looks like a hydrogrossular garnet, but it might be quartz instead (I lean towards it being a garnet); the second caught my eye because of the irregular surface pattern; the third is a small trace fossil stone, 3 cm by 2.5 cm, where most of the traces are very small, but with a larger one along the bottom; and the fourth is a small light-coloured jasper with a ring on the top of it.

The first fossick I had at Gemstone Beach upon my return to Southland can be found in this Post. The first Post in the “Southern Sojourn 2023” Series is here while the Index to the Series is here.  

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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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