Yesterday was cold and stormy so I stayed inside. Today started cool but partly cloudy and with less wind, so I headed out to Gemstone Beach, arriving there at 9.30 am. I left at 12.30 pm, after making it down to the Waimeamea River. I met a few people along the way and spent some time chatting to Michelle, also an enthusiastic fossicker.
Thirteen of my finds are featured below. Early on, I spotted a small white hydrogrossular garnet. These shine out on the beach. They can also be found sitting in isolation among smaller stones, maybe because they are heavier than others.
Down near the Waimeamea River I spotted a red jasper. When they are wet, and have some hematite in there, they can look bright red. After closer examination back at the crib, it turns out to be a kind of poppy jasper.
Two other small poppy jaspers I found today:
This small light-coloured quartzite was one of my best finds today:
Two stones with interesting compositions. The first green one also has some tiny white dots in it – I have come across these before. The second stone has a variety of minerals contributing to its character.
Three different trace fossils finds today, in argillite:
Finally, I found more hydrogrossular garnets today than during my first Gemstone Beach fossick this trip. One is shown right near the start of this Post. Here are another three:
Part 8 reports on my visit to the Southland Geological and Lapidary Club where I talked about my fossicking, my tumble polishing and my blog. The first Post in this Series can be found here.
There are so many hydrogrossular garnets around aren’t there? And so many varieties too!!
I meant to add great poppy jasper finds too! What beauties!!