Early 2024 Fossicking Trip – Part 17, An Hour on Gemstone Beach, Sunday 3 March

I had a big day yesterday, visiting Slope Point, so I decided to have only an hour’s fossick at Gemstone Beach late this morning. The weather was good but the tide was low and the waves were wetting mainly smaller stones. I fossicked mainly in front of the carpark, not venturing past the Taunoa Stream. By the time I left there were probably about 30 people on the beach, most of them passing motorists and campers I suspect.

Below are photos of five of my best finds. The first caught my eye because of the tiny breccia in the central vein, the second because of the range of materials and patterns in it, and the third is a nice brown hydrogrossular garnet with an unusual white band:

The final two are a small grey pebble with some tiny inclusions and a jasper with intense green veins:

Part 18 in this Series features stones from a post-storm fossick on Gemstone Beach and a chat with three people from the Czech Republic. The Series Index 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