Yesterday was wet and windy so I did not venture out onto the beach. Today was still windy but at least the rain stayed away (mostly). It was partly cloudy so the sun came out to shine on the stones at times. I arrived at Gemstone Beach at 10.30 am at high tide, the temperature being 11 degrees. I had to wear my woollen hat, scarf, thick jersey and wind-resistant coat today. The storm had whipped up some foam that in places lay thick. Quite a few campervans and tourists were here again today, despite the cold blustery conditions, but they did not venture far from the carpark.
I had a brief chat with a gentleman from Cumbria, England, who had picked up a handful of stones. After I had crossed the Taunoa Stream, I looked back to see someone slip as a wave roared up the beach – she got wet and lost some dignity but was otherwise ok. A few minutes later I looked up from the stones to see a small startled seal pup escaping into the foamy water – probably resting up onshore from the storm.
During my two hour fossick down to the Waimeamea River and back, I collected about 40 diverse stones for tumble polishing, including a couple of impressive trace fossils and a large hydrogrossular garnet. Here are some of my finds:
It was 14 degrees when I finished two hours later.
The next Part of this Series, “A Red, a Green and a Pink”, is here. The Series Index is here.
That’s another very impressive hydrogrossular garnet find! And that black and white stone with lace-looking green is my favourite kind of stone to find!