March 2025 – Page 3 – TumbleStone

March 2025 Stone Collecting Trip – Part 5, First Fossick at Gemstone Beach, Monday 3 March

People near the Taunoa Stream.

I collected about 70 stones today.

I arrived in Riverton yesterday and made my first visit to nearby Gemstone Beach this morning. I met Chrissy there – she’s a local who writes the Tumble and Polish blog. We spent 3 1/2 hours walking down to the Waimeamea River mouth and back. I collected about 70 stones and, furthermore, Chrissy kindly gave me a bag of trace fossil stones she has been collecting for me. There was a stiff breeze and it was about 14 or 15 degrees, so we had to dress appropriately.

Gemstone Beach this morning, from in front of the carpark.

People near the Taunoa Stream.

The Taunoa Stream runs into this large pool before making its way to the sea.

The Taunoa Stream on its way to the sea. Gemstone Beach.

Chrissy on the beach beyond the Taunoa Stream.

A seepage near the Waimeamea River mouth – these are good to search for stones.

I collected about 70 stones today.

On our way back, as we neared the carpark, we had an interesting chat with a woman from near Auckland about the pretty stones on this beach.

Below are 12 of my finds today. I struggled to get good sun for some of these photos so there are occasionally more reflections on them than usual. The first stone is an unusual one, and I am not sure what type it is. But I love its colour and detailed patterns:

A couple of breccia – stones consisting of angular fragments in a fine grained matrix, often the result of tectonic forces crushing a rock (there’s more information on breccia in this Post):

Three stones with compositions revealed in the close-ups:

Three types of stone reasonably common on Gemstone Beach – a pink thulite, a banded argillite, and a trace fossil argillite stone:

This small stone caught my eye because of the black and white in it:

A green quartzite, similar to ones that can be found especially near Timaru:

I was interested to find this last stone – which I think is light-coloured feldspar in basalt – because it helped to confirm for me that the stone I found at Kakanui (the sixth stone found in the morning of 1 March) is of the same type:

The next Post features another Gemstone Beach fossick. The first Post in this Series is here.

March 2025 Stone Collecting Trip – Part 4, Two Visits to Kakanui’s Seadown Beach, Saturday 1 March

Some of the patches of stones.

Today I made two visits to Seadown Beach, Kakanui, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The morning visit started in heavy fog and I spent 90 minutes there at low tide. There were a handful of other people on the beach, looking for shells or kai moana (shellfish) or just taking in the scenery. Some of the stones were wet from the fog so I had a greater choice than yesterday.

A foggy Saturday morning at Seadown Beach, Kakanui.

More wet stones to look over this morning than yesterday afternoon.

Closer to the south end, a greater number of stones.

The bank of stones right at the south end this morning.

Stnes on Seadown Beach about 350 metres north of the carpark.

This morning’s 54 finds.

I ended up collecting 54 stones this morning. I was pleased with what I found, especially the six stones featured below. The first is full of bryozoan fossils (and maybe other tiny fossils as well) – it was the last stone I found, heading back to the car across the dry beach.

Bryozoan fossil stone.

See this Post for information about bryozoan fossil stones.

Sometimes small beach agates can be found here, like the next stone. I had walked north up the beach for about 400 metres, and this was my northernmost find. It was the only agate I found today. And the beach often provides very nice jaspers – the one below has an interesting green vein.

I found a limestone pebble with lots of tiny interesting bits in it, and a yellow quartzite with some red in it:

As explained in this Post, the limestone is soft and needs to be treated gently when tumble polished. And the range of hues in Kakanui’s yellow quartzites are presented in this Post.

This morning’s sixth feature find is a type of stone that can be found along the North Otago coast. It is likely to be basalt with feldspar crystals. But the crystals here are the largest I have seen in such a stone.

You can see red, brown and green marks and lines inside the crystals, which initially made me doubt their identification as crystals – maybe they are fragments of rock and the stone is a breccia. However, I later found a stone on Gemstone Beach with recognisable feldspar crystals and they too had such marks/lines.

This morning I also spotted a couple of herons not far away up the beach from me. I managed to snap a few photos. They are probably white-faced herons, the most common type in New Zealand.

Heron, Kakanui’s Seadown Beach.

The fog was well gone by late morning. In mid-afternoon, I spent 50 minutes at Seadown Beach, just before high tide, and came away with 36 stones.

Higher tide in the afternoon at Seadown Beach.

Some of the patches of stones.

Seven of this afternoon’s finds are featured below. The first four are variations on the yellow and red quartzites commonly found here:

I liked this dark coloured stone and the photos reveal that it too is a quartzite:

Another limestone-related pebble, this one with shells apparent in it:

Finally, I was interested in the subtle veins in this dark stone:

The next day I drove to Riverton, my base for the next month.

Next stop, Gemstone Beach. See this Post for my first fossick there. The first Post in this Series is here.

March 2025 Stone Collecting Trip – Part 3, First Fossick at Kakanui’s Seadown Beach, Friday 28 February

At the wave edge, south end of the beach.

Today’s 32 finds.

I arrived at Kakanui, North Otago, at mid-afternoon. I am staying in a cabin at the local camping ground for two nights. I made a quick visit to Seadown Beach in the afternoon and collected 32 stones. It was windy enough to be unpleasant. Fossicking conditions were not the best either as few stones were being wet by the waves – I am a lazy fossicker and like to see the colours of the stones when wet. The south end of the beach is often the best, on the other side of a large rock, but a bank of smaller stones is to be found there at present.

Looking towards the south end of Seadown Beach.

Looking northwards, towards the city of Oamaru, just over the horizon.

At the wave edge, south end of the beach.

On the other side of this rock is often a great area to look for stones, when the tide is low.

The other side of the rock – a lot of small stones have been piled up here, maybe 1 to 2 metres higher than usual. Some patches of larger stones

Today’s 32 finds.

I didn’t come across anything special but did collect some nice yellow quartzites of darker and lighter hues.

I also found an iron stained sugar quartz and a stone with interesting bands and veins:

Finally, three stones: one of Seadown Beach’s interesting jaspers, then a quartz with an opaque external layer, and lastly a blue-grey quartzite:

I will return to this beach tomorrow.

A Post featuring my two visits to Seadown Beach the next day is here. The first Post in this Series is here.

March 2025 Stone Collecting Trip – Part 2, Lunch at Timaru South, Friday 28 February

Stones of Timaru South.

Today’s 32 finds, Timaru South.

Brecciated jasper?

Quartzite?

Veined jasper.

Driving south today, I stopped off just south of Timaru to eat my egg sandwich on the beach. This is a beach that I don’t always visit when passing but I have found some interesting stones there when I do. See Timaru South for the beach’s location and other details. Today I also collected 32 stones as I walked south from the carpark at the end of Scarborough Road to Mutu Mutu Point and back.

Looking south from the carpark to Mutu Mutu Point. Timaru South beach.

Looking north from the carpark, Timaru city in the background.

On the beach, Timaru South.

Stones of Timaru South.

Below are featured eight of my finds. The first one is a type I have found on two or three other beaches as well, and I find its hue and composition very attractive. I think it might be a brecciated jasper. These stones tend to tumble polish well, partly because of the quartz in them.