Early 2024 Fossicking Trip – Part 34, Final Fossick of the Trip, Ward Beach, Monday 25 March

This afternoon, after driving from Christchurch, I spent just over an hour at Ward Beach. This area of the coast was raised by the 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake. I searched for interesting stones along a 300 metre stretch of the beach in front of the carpark.

Looking back at the carpark (my red car there), camping area in background, jagged limestone rocks in foreground raised by the 2016 earthquake.

Ward Beach in front of the carpark.

Ward Beach stones.

The beach to the south of the carpark.

I also ventured onto the rocks at the south end, where the Flaxbourne River mouth usually is – the river is very low and appears to have ceased flowing. These rocks have been recently uplifted and appear to be limestone with darker flint patches and nodules.

The jagged uplifted rocks at the south end of the beach.

Looking down at where the Flaxbourne River usually flows out to the sea.

Usually I am interested in, firstly, the trace fossil limestone pebbles, such as these I found today:

Trace fossil layers.

Fossil traces?

And I always look out for the patterned and pastel-coloured limestones with white veins that are common here.

Limestone pebble with intriguing veins.

Dry red limestone pebble with criss-crossing veins.

The same red limestone pebble, wet.

I think a brecciated limestone-with-flint stone.

Small limestone pebble with white vein and dark red flint at right edge.

Dark limestone pebble with markings?

Limestone pebble with horizontal markings.

But for this fossick, I also deliberately looked for stones that I normally don’t focus on. Below are six types of stones that I usually don’t find at Ward Beach, maybe because I don’t look for them:

Interesting intense dark orange mineral.

The dark yellow caught my eye, the dark red veins are a bonus, some brecciation becomes apparent in close-ups.

A jasper of this quality is unusual in my experience of Ward Beach.

Perhaps brecciated flint, with chalcedony in matix.

Saying goodbye to Ward Beach brought the end to my visits to beaches during this trip to the South Island which lasted just over five weeks. Altogether, I undertook 34 fossicks for tumblestones, the vast majority (24 fossicks) at Gemstone Beach and the nearby Te Waewae Bay coast. I caught a ferry across Cook Strait the next day and made it home to Whanganui later in the afternoon.

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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. View all posts by tumblestoneblog