Quartzite – Page 4 – TumbleStone

Stay-at-Home Day Twenty, Tuesday 14 April 2020: Stone Twenty

Stone Nineteen.

Stone Eighteen.

Stone Seventeen.

Stone Sixteen.

Stone Fifteen.

A Birdlings Flat stone, collected over a year ago, polished last month:

Stone Twenty.

Other side of Stone Twenty.

This again is a quartzite, like Stones Two and Nine. There are patches and flows of golden-yellow within the stone.

Stone Twenty close-up.

I have picked up and polished a number of these yellow quartzites on Birdlings Flat – it is even possible to find quite large stones of it, much too large to tumble polish or even to take home.

Larger yellow quartzite found on Birdlings Flat, February 2020.

Range of yellow quartzites found on Birdlings Flat in 2016.

Found on Birdlings Flat in May 2016.

What fascinates me about these stones are the “clouds” or “curtains” of golden-yellow that are situated through them – the photos fail to do justice to the 3-D nature of these clouds and curtains. There are depths clearly visible in these stones – you can see into them.

The next Post in this Series is Stay-at-Home Day Twenty-One, Wednesday 15 April 2020: Stone Twenty-One.

Stay-at-Home Day Nine, Friday 3 April 2020: Stone Nine

Stone Eight.

Stone Seven.

Stone Six.

Stone Five.

Stone Four.

Stone Nine is another quartzite (like Stone Two) but this time from Birdlings Flat.

Stone Nine, quartzite from Birdlings Flat

Discernible within it are small pieces of clear or white quartz, lines of silica and clouds of colour, all typical of the kind of quartzites found on beaches like Birdlings Flat.

Stone Nine.

Birdlings Flat is a great source of a range of colourful quartzites. See this previous Post for photos of Birdlings Flat quartzites in the Gemstone and Fossil Museum there.

The bowl of previous Stones of the Day.

Stone Nine.

The next Post in this Series is Stay-at-Home Day Ten, Saturday 4 April 2020: Stone Ten.

Stay-at-Home Day Two, Friday 27 March 2020: Stone Two

Stone Two was found on the Back Beach at Riverton last year, at the end of the road, on the shores of Foveaux Strait, with Rakiura/Stewart Island in the background. I think it is a quartzite stone, with lace-like tendrils spread throughout. As I have stated in a previous Post, Quartzites are not as common along the south coast as at Birdlings Flat in Canterbury, but I always find a couple of excellent ones at Riverton and Orepuki. They polish well, often have great colour, have interesting veins through them, and there’s a depth to them that makes them intriguing.

A quartzite starts off as a quartz-rich sandstone, a sedimentary rock that is grainy and feels like sandpaper. When the sandstone is exposed to high temperatures and pressures, the hard glassy metamorphic rock of quartzite is formed. Quartzite’s wide variety of colours are a result of minor amounts of impurities being incorporated with the quartz during the process of metamorphism. It is often the cloudy or lace-like trails of impurities that provide the most fascinating aspect of a quartzite stone.

Stone Two: Polished quartzite stone from the Back Beach, Riverton

Stone Two: Other side of polished quartzite stone from the Back Beach, Riverton

Stone Two detail.

Stone Two.

Stone Two detail.

Stone Two.

Stone Two detail.

Stone Two.

Next Post in this Series is Stay-at-Home Day Three.

Another Visit to Birdlings Flat, Late June 2016 – Part Three: Seven Types of Stones Collected

During the six to seven hours spent at Birdlings Flat and nearby beaches during two and a half days at the end of June, I collected just over eight kilograms of stones. These consisted of a number of different types of stones. After my two previous visits, I had a good idea of what I was looking for, based on the results of some tumble polishing as well as my own preferences. There are many greywacke stones on the beach, the common grey beach stones of New Zealand, as well as a wide range of other types.

Following are listed the seven types of stones I collected during this visit:

Yellow-patterned Quartzite; Red Jasper; Agates; Green (Quartzite?); Patterned; White Quartz and Other Light-Coloured; Others.

Yellow-patterned Quartzite – This can easily be found at Birdlings Flat and is perhaps my favourite stone from there. I discovered a small boulder of it, that filled both my hands – which I had to leave at the beach. I have brought home at least two hand-sized specimens. There are a number of subtle colour variations of this stone, the best seeming to be a clear to light coloured quartzite with curtains or swirls of “gold foil” throughout it. The intensity of the gold/yellow can vary from stone to stone as can the patterns inside it. During this trip, I sought to collect stones exhibiting these variations.

Dry stones, as collected in late June

The same stones, wet

An idea of size

Collected earlier, smaller and with brighter yellow through it

Collected earlier

Collected previously from Birdlings Flat – swirls of gold through the clear silica

Collected earlier

Red Jasper – Red jasper stones can often be found on South Island beaches. They are reasonably easy to find at Birdlings Flat, where they can be of good size and quality. Many jasper stones have silica veins, sometimes bright red veins as well, and some other mineral staining can be present. They can be brittle, with chips and pits, making them difficult to smooth and polish.

Dry stones, probably jasper, collected from Birdlings Flat in late June

The same stones, wet

Collected at Birdlings Flat at an earlier date

Collected earlier

Agates – Birdlings Flat is well-known for its agates. A wide range of sizes, shapes and types can be found. It took me a while before I learned to spot them. The best way is to look towards the sun and your eye will be drawn to the light shining through them, even amidst a whole mass of other types of stones. On this trip, I found my largest agate so far, and a very small one with a green staining.

The agates collected at Birdlings Flat, late June, in their dry state

The same agates, wet

A sense of their size

Anagate collected at Birdlings Flat at an earlier date

Moss agate, from Birdlings Flat, collected earlier

Coloured agate, Birdlings Flat, collected earlier

Green (Quartzite?) – One of the interesting types of stones to be found at Birdlings Flat is green and I suspect is a type of quartzite. Again, there is a great diversity of them, from pale green through to lime green through to darker greens. I find them quite attractive and relatively easy to spot.

Dry green stones

The same green stones, wet

Patterned – I find myself drawn to even greywacke stones and other grey (or common coloured) stones if they have veins of white quartz through them or if they display layer patterns.

Dry

Wet

White Quartz and Other Light-Coloured – Going through the stones I collected, I find there are a number of white quartz stones and other white or light-coloured stones. These tend to catch my eye on any beach, standing out from the sand or the predominant grey of the most common stones on South Island beaches. I have learned to be more restrained in my collection of white quartz as it is easy to spot it and can soon mount up in the collection bag.

Dry

Wet

Others – What’s left in my collection bag after the rest have been taken away:

Pink stones are rare but present at Birdlings Flat. Some of these stones include ones of volcanic origin, characterised by small white pits

The same stones, wet

Dry, and…

…wet

My Visit to Birdlings Flat, Day 2: Gemstone and Fossil Museum

On my first day at Birdlings, I had seen the sign for the Museum so decided to visit it at the start of Day 2 of my visit. I had seen references to it online, where it was described as a private rock collection open to the viewing public. One community information site added: “The display is mostly Canterbury material gathered from the rivers and hills, agate, quartzite, jasper, petrified woods etc, of which after many years would have all ended up on the beach at Birdlings Flat.” Another site stated: “The Gemstone and Fossil Museum was opened in February 2003 by Vince and Colleen Burke and their children, who collected the many kinds of gemstones off Birdlings Flat Beach over 34 years. The collection has grown to include fossils collected since 2002, mostly from Amberley Beach to Kaikoura.” Vince is quoted in a 2012 North & South article on the Little River area as saying, “My wife wanted me to get everything out of the lounge” when they decided to live permanently at Birdlings Flat, sometime after his retirement as a builder in 2003.

The Museum is located at the end of Hillview Road at Birdlings Flat, a narrow road crowded on both sides by holiday homes and residences. Going in the gate, I found myself in a large courtyard to the left of which was the Museum building. A sign said to blow the horn on the wall, so I did, and Vince appeared and opened up. Inside is possibly the best laid-out and presented display of rocks and fossils that I have ever seen, a testament not only to the Burke family’s passion for stones and fossils but also to Vince’s intelligent ordering and labeling of the material being presented.

My favourite corner contained the petrified wood, agates and quartzites.

Petrified wood:

Agate stones:

Quartzite and rhodonite:

Perhaps more than half of the displays are of large colourful agates, most of them found by Vince himself in different parts of Canterbury:

One wall has a display of agates and rocks from different parts of New Zealand. Entry to the Museum is free, though donations are welcome, and you can purchase your own stones, rough or polished, to take away with you:

Vince graciously showed me around and shared some of the stories associated with various stones, especially the large colourful agates. He helped me to identify some of the stones I had been collecting recently. I bought some petrified wood and agate stones on the way out, and Vince then showed me around his workshop which contains his large homemade tumblers, vibratory vats, and cutting saws. All in all, an overwhelming and amazing experience.

Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum is open every day, 9.30 am to 5 pm, except when Vince is away rockhounding.

January 2024, Article in Otago Daily Times about Vince’s desire to sell the Museum “Rock collection faces uncertain fate”.

My Visit to Birdlings Flat, Day 1 of 2

Last week I visited Birdlings Flat. The weather and tide were very good. Even though it is just about winter, the temperatures were in the mid-20s (centigrade) due to a strong warm north-westerly wind. And the tide was going out, meaning that wet stones were accessible at the tide-line. Some cars were parked partly on the beach but I didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the loose stones so stayed up near the road. The walk to the sea is across about 300-400 metres of stones, mostly greywacke it seems, and sometimes sorted into different sizes by natural processes – a patch of larger stones is followed by a band of smaller stones. There were a couple of people fishing from the beach, a couple sitting and watching the waves, and a photographer tramped the stones near the eastern end. A motor-cyclist went up and down the beach a bit further west, but otherwise it was a very quiet scene.

The parking area at Birdlings Flat

This is the area, near the eastern end of the beach, where most of the stone-hunters spend their time

Looking downwards while crossing towards the tide-line

Looking westwards upon arrival

Getting closer to the east end, where the beach gets steeper towards the surf

The beach is wide and stony

Looking eastwards upon arrival

When I reached the tide-line, I spent about 3 1/2 hours walking initially westwards along the beach before turning back and walking eastwards. I had intended to reach the cliffs at the east end but gave up before I got there as I had collected quite a few stones already, my backpack was getting heavy, and I knew I would be coming back the next day. Late afternoon, before heading back to Christchurch for the evening, I drove down Bayleys Road which runs along Kaitorete Spit. After about 9-10 kilometres, there is a beach access track. I spent about 30-40 minutes on the beach there, scanning for more stones. Here there is more sand and less stones but still some excellent pickings are possible.