Rock collecting sites – TumbleStone

Index to “September 2024 Stone Collecting Trip” Series: Part One, Posts 1 to 10

In September (and the first couple of days of October) I drove from my home in Whanganui down to Riverton, a journey of about 1150 kms. I crossed Cook Strait by ferry from Wellington to Picton on Monday 2 September, catching a return ferry on my way back north on Thursday 3 October. As usual, I documented the beaches I visited and the stones I collected for tumble polishing. In this Index, you can click on a link to be taken to the relevant Post. The photos above each link give you an idea of some of the stones that feature in that Post. The first 10 Posts in the Series are listed below.

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Part 1 Ward Beach Surprises, Monday 2 September

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Part 2 Seadown Beach, Kakanui, Agatised Bone Find, Wednesday 4 September

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Kakanui bryozoan fossils.

Part 3 Two Fossicks at Seadown Beach, Kakanui, Thursday 5 September

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Part 4 Multiple Quartzites from Seadown Beach, Kakanui, Friday 6 September

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Part 5 Gemstone Beach, Sunday 8 September: Fifteen Finds from a First Fossick

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Part 6 Riverton Aparima, Monday 9 September: Back to the Back Beach

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Part 7 Second Fossick at Gemstone Beach, Wednesday 11 September: Spotting Garnets and Jaspers

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Part 8 Southland Geological and Lapidary Club, Thursday 12 September

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McCracken’s Rest stones.

Riverton Aparima’s Back Beach, looking west.

Part 9 Three Stones, Three Beaches, A Falling Tide, Friday 13 September

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Part 10 Fossicking at Gemstone Beach with Chrissy, Saturday 14 September

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Go to Part Two of this Index

FB Group Posts: 26, 27 & 30 June 2021 – Kakanui, Timaru and Ward Beach, Then Home

Facebook Group Banner, close-up of one of Malcolm Luxton’s cut agates.

This is the seventh and last Post on my June 2021 stone collecting trip to the South Island, and is also the 17th and last Post in the Series of my daily Posts in the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. The first Post on my June trip is the Sunday 6 June entry in this Post, and the first in the Facebook Group Series is here.

Saturday 26 June 2021: Featuring ten stones from my last visit to the beach near Kakanui this trip. I spent four hours there, and a bit of rain ensured wet stones for easier spotting of the colourful ones.

I collected a few colourful stones from about two metres around this spot and added them to the shot.

My last view of the beach near Kakanui.

The first five stones:

Small but interesting stone, side A.

Small but interesting stone, side B.

Bigger stone, with small circular features.

Quartzite, not a tumble-polishing candidate but I couldn’t walk past the bright colours.

The last five stones:

Small transparent stone with tiny inclusions.

Quartzite with unusual jasper-like inclusion.

Small quartzite.

Sunday 27 June 2021: My first visit to this particular section of a south Timaru Beach (at the end of Ellis Road, near Jack’s Point lighthouse). It was a cool foggy day, and I spent about three hours fossicking.

Looking north from the Ellis Road carpark.

A couple of hundred metres south of the carpark – the cliff has been eroded away and the succulents on top have been undermined.

At the base of the eroding cliffs at this point on the beach.

Looking up at the Jack’s Point lighthouse.

The scattering of stones across the lower part of the beach where I found the stones highlighted in this Post..

I looked mainly along the lower part of the beach near low tide, near the waves, where there was a scattering of stones, including quite a few interesting quartzites.

Here are seven green-coloured stones I found:

Side A of first stone.

Side B of first stone.

Ten more of the stones collected today, showing some of the diversity on this beach:

Large jasper, left on beach, just below the lighthouse. Pen and front of gumboot for scale.

Quartzite.

Monday 28 June 2021: Cold stormy day – travelled to Lincoln, had to cancel a planned visit to Birdlings Flat due to the hail and wind and freezing temperatures.

Tuesday 29 June 2021: This is the day I made a Post in the Group’s Alphabetical Series – “I” is for “Ichnogenus Protovirgularia” – not yet posted.

Wednesday 30 June 2021: Ward Beach visit today, the end of my current South Island trip (assuming I am able to catch a ferry tomorrow as planned). Ward Beach is 5 kms east of Ward which is 45 kms south of Blenheim. The geographical setting is spectacular, with steep hills behind the beach. Interesting birds often there, and seals. I managed a fossick today as the weather had improved, the temperature was around 10 to 12 degrees with little wind, and there were only a couple of rain showers. Very heavy swell at the beach so I stayed well back from the waves. Had a good look up the Flaxbourne River just to the south of the carpark.

Heavy swell today at Ward Beach.

There is often heavy swell here but today was especially so.

Ward Beach, Google Maps. P = Carpark. Most of my fossicking today was up the Flaxbourne River in the area circled in red.

Looking up the valley of the Flaxbourne River.

Wet stones.

The stones alongside the Flaxbourne River.

Seal on rocks at the mouth of the Flaxbourne River.

I was spotted by a shag.

Two herons on the river bank.

Eight of the stones collected today:

Colourful small pebble.

Red jasper with some yellow.

Zoophycos (trace fossil). Many of these at Ward Beach.

Some intense iron staining.

Here are another six stones found today:

Many of the stones here may not tumble-polish well (I will need to experiment to find out) but I enjoy the pastel colours and trace fossils. The occasional jasper can be interesting, and some of these stones are volcanic. I’d like to know more about the limestone and chert here.

[This was the end of this stone collecting trip. The ferry on Thursday was delayed a couple of hours but I made it home to Whanganui that night, having driven 3,800 kilometres, with 120 kilograms of finds with me.]

FB Group Posts: 21, 22 & 25 June 2021 – Final Fossicks at Gemstone Beach, and a Kakanui Beach Visit

This is the sixth Post on my June 2021 stone collecting trip to the South Island, and is also the 16th Post in the Series of my daily Posts in the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. The first Post on my June trip is the Sunday 6 June entry in this Post, and the first in the Facebook Group Series is here.

Monday 21 June 2021: Featuring eight stones from (what I thought was going to be) my last visit to Gemstone Beach this trip. Cold again but sunny and very little wind, good fossicking. Here are five of the stones:

Small dark red jasper.

One of the larger stones I collected.

Another banded argillite, nice and smooth.

Trace fossil stone with long continuous trace.

The Waimeamea River was blocked off by a build-up of stones during the last high tide so I could wander a kilometre further along the beach than previously. Here are the other three stones:

Breccia stone.

Quartz with tiny inclusions.

Near the Waimeamea River mouth, there sitting in front of me was a nice hydrogrossular garnet, one of the few I have found this trip.

It shone brightly among the other dry dull stones.

Waimeamea River blocked off from flowing to the sea. (Froth on the edge.) Walking across the stones to take this photo, I came across the hydrogrossular garnet in the previous photos.

Stones on Gemstone Beach today.

At the edge of the waves.

[Monday 21 June was also the day I made a Post in the Group’s Alphabetical Series – “H” is for “Hematite Jasper…”– see here.]

Tuesday 22 June 2021: Couldn’t resist the temptation to visit Gemstone Beach one more time before leaving tomorrow (despite scheduling today as clean-up and pack-up and load-up the car with stones). Bit of a cold breeze today but a big coat and hood did the trick. Found a few nice small-to-medium-sized hydrogrossular garnets (there have been very few up until today), and the usual colourful and interesting stones. Here are four of today’s finds:

Orbicular (poppy) jasper.

Here are another four of today’s finds:

Gemstone Beach scene today.

One of today’s hydrogrossular garnets.

Trace fossil stone, with iron staining.

And it’s finally farewell to Gemstone Beach for this fossicking trip.

Wednesday 23 June 2021 and Thursday 24 June: Travel days, no beach visits, no posts.

Friday 25 June 2021: Spent just over three hours on Kakanui’s Seadown Beach (North Otago) today. Among my finds were these beach agates and fossil sea floor stones:

Small beach agate #1, side A.

Small beach agate #1, side B.

Another small beach agate.

Fossil sea floor. These creamy-coloured stones often have tiny fossils in them.

Another fossil sea floor stone.

Fossil sea floor stone #3.

I think this is another fossil sea floor stone, slightly different in character.

I think this is also fossil sea floor, but dendritic (small mineral growths in it)

Maybe petrified wood, plus some jaspers:

Possibly petrified wood – wet.

Possibly petrified wood – dry.

Brecciated jasper.

Darker brecciated jasper.

Different coloured jasper.

Dark coloured jasper with a lot going on in it.

And some other stones from today:

Stone full of “entrances” or windows! Side A.

Stone full of “entrances” or windows! Side B.

Beach scenes from today near Kakanui:

Kakanui beach stones, from the southern end, in a small bay.

The beach near Kakanui when I arrived this morning.

Found this little guy just washed up by a wave.

The next Post in this Series is here, which is also the last Post on my June 2012 stone collecting trip to the South Island.

FB Group Posts: 5, 6 & 7 June 2021 – Birdlings Flat Stone, Timaru and Moeraki Village Fossicking

This is the eleventh Post in this Series of my daily Posts in the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. The first Post in this Series is here.

Saturday 5 June 2021: Tumble-polished stone found on Birdlings Flat sometime over the last couple of years.

Other side of stone.

Sunday 6 June 2021: Three finds from my time on a beach just south of Timaru this morning. I am on my way south again to restock my beach stones for tumble polishing. My very first visit to this beach was yesterday, I just had to go back today, as there are some beautiful quartzites there. I also saw three seals. Right at the end, I came across a tiny fish (about 4 cms long) gasping for breath a couple of metres up the beach from the waveline – I carefully returned it to the sea.

I found a few green quartzites.

I’m hoping I can tumble this one in my 12lb barrel.

The beach just south of Timaru. I suspect recent stormy days have piled up more stones than usual – or at least given them a big stir.

The tiny fish I returned to the sea.

Monday 7 June 2021: Five small stones from my visit this morning to a beach near Moeraki Village, North Otago. Close inspection of each revealed fascinating details. Most are chalcedony (agate). The first three stones:

Stone 1 – small agate with “fortifications”.

Stone 1 held up to the light.

Stone 2 – orbicular chalcedony?

Stone 3 – another small agate.

It was difficult to see the details of these small stones before working with the photos. On the beach, I could often just see a hint of something interesting going on. Here is a photo of the beach, followed by photos of the other two stones:

The small beach near Moeraki Village.

Stone 4 – likely also to be chalcedony of some kind, maybe dendritic.

Stone 5 – conglomerate of some kind?

See here for the next Post in this Series.

Another South Island Fossicking Trip, February/ March 2021 – Days 21 and 22 (Kakanui, Temuka)

See here for the first Post in this Series.

Day 21, Tuesday 9 March – Kakanui. On my last day at Kakanui, I spent four hours on the beach between 10.30 am and 2.30 pm, then later another hour between 6 pm and 7 pm. Great weather and great fossicking!

A couple of oyster catchers moving away from me on the Kakanui beach.

The south end of the beach.

Just past the rocks shown in the previous two photos is this small cove which is often piled high with stones. Can be accessed at low tide or otherwise by climbing over the rocks.

Three sea gulls over the Kakanui beach.

Today’s selection of finds are presented in the order I found them. And I will reverse my usual presentation for each stone – first will come the close-up image then the image of the stone itself. Most of these stones should by now be familiar to those who have read previous Posts in this Series – jasper, quartzite, agate. Here are the first six:

Quartzite?

Like caramel.

Jasper.

Fossil hash stone. One side.

Fossil hash stone. Other side.

Another five finds:

Treasure

Could be a type of fossil hash.

Quartzite?

Dark red jasper?

One side of a small beach agate.

Other side of small beach agate.

And a final five Kakanui finds:

Another fossil hash stone.

Another jasper.

Another beach agate.

Small banded jasper.

Quartzite?

Day 22, Wednesday 10 March – Travel day, driving from Kakanui to Amberley, no beach visits partly due to heavy rain. But I called in on Penny Farmer (and Francis) at Temuka in response to her invitation delivered through the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. Penny showed me her stone cutting saws and tumblers and the many interesting rocks and pebbles she has accumulated in her shed and garden. She tends to collect much larger specimens than I do, and one of her fossicking areas is Kakanui. She gifted me a few stones, including these two unpolished cut slices and small jasper (many thanks! and thanks to Francis for an excellent cup of coffee!). The close-up photos of these stones have been “brightened” a little to show more detail (partly because the images were taken in dull conditions).

One of Penny Farmer’s cut slices that she kindly gave to me. Probably jasper.

Another of Penny Farmer’s cut slices that she kindly gave to me.. Again, probably jasper.

A grit-tumbled jasper stone given to me by Penny Farmer.

The last Post in this Series, on Days 23 and 24, is here.

Another South Island Fossicking Trip, February/ March 2021 – Days 19 and 20 (Kakanui, Moeraki Village, Katiki)

See here for the first Post in this Series.

Day 19, Sunday 7 March – Travel day. I drove north from Riverton to Kakanui (near Oamaru), and made a brief reconnaissance visit to Kakanui Beach (planning to spend two days here). I arrived at my favourite Kakanui Beach late afternoon and spent about 30 minutes checking out what stones were around. Here are five that I found:

This reasonably plain whitish quartz stone has this on its side.

Treasure

Limonite prase, a kind of jasper. This one has less holes than most.

Probably stained quartz.

Light coloured quartzite.

Plain beach agate, not a bad size.

Day 20, Monday 8 March – Kakanui, Moeraki Village and Katiki. To start off with today, I spent 3 1/2 hours on the beach near Kakanui.

The stones on the beach near Kakanui this morning.

You can see the wet strip of stones I followed today while fossicking. Looking south.

Looking northwards, towards Oamaru.

I went as far as these rocks, which are about 800 metres along the beach.

I found quite a few of the yellow and red quartzites that I like. I first came across a type of yellow quartzite at Birdlings Flat, near Christchurch, a few years ago and was pleased to discover even more of them appearing in the Kakanui area. Some have some red in them, and some I thought have almost no yellow (or red) at all. Here are 11 of these stones found today, starting with predominantly red ones, moving through to yellow ones then to increasingly plainer ones. Yet all the same type of quartzite, I reckon.

Among the other Kakanui stones I found today were these seven:

Fossil hash stone.

Not sure what might have caused these two flower-like-shapes, either fossils or some mineral process.

And these seven:

Nice sized quartzite.

Treasure

Small quartzite.

Jasper.

Another jasper.

In the afternoon I tracked back south for about 30 kilometres to visit a small beach not far from Moeraki village, a recommendation from Oliver who had earlier introduced me to Slope Point.

One end of the small beach near Moeraki Village.

Looking towards the other end of the beach.

Seagull on the small Moeraki Village beach.

There were seals at both ends of the beach so I did not venture further.

Oliver said I might find some agate there. And I did – botryoidal agate, seam agate, and sea-tumbled beach agate.

Botryoidal agate.

Seam agate, wet.

Beach agate, wet.

Other side of beach agate.

As noted by Jocelyn Thornton on page 11 of “Gemstones”, this form of cryptocrystalline silica is more accurately called “chalcedony”, with “agate” being used for the banded variety (see also Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand). The Quartz Page provides a well-considered view on this. However, in New Zealand most varieties of chalcedony are often simply called agate. (Malcolm Luxton in “Agates of New Zealand” refers to some types of non-banded chalcedony as agate, such as those with mineral inclusions.)

Chalcedony is composed of very fine intergrowths of quartz and moganite. It is microcrystalline meaning the crystals are microscopic and cannot be observed by the naked eye. Both quartz and moganite have the same chemical formula SiO2 (silicon dioxide) but different crystal structures. When free from impurities, chalcedony is colourless and transparent. Dependent on impurities introduced during its formation, chalcedony comes in a wide variety of colours including red, yellow, green, blue, purple, grey, and white.

I was astounded to find the piece of botryoidal chalcedony/agate, having never come across it before. It was partly buried in the sand and I missed it first time I walked past. I went back a few paces for some reason to look at something else and noticed it from that direction.

One of the other sides of the botryoidal chalcedony.

Another side of the botryoidal chalcedony.

Held up to the sun.

As one website puts it, “Botryoidal minerals form when many nearby nuclei, specks of sand, dust, or other particles, are present. Acicular or fibrous crystals grow radially around the nuclei at the same rate, appearing as spheres. Eventually, these spheres abut or overlap with those that are nearby.” The Moeraki/Kakanui area is well known to have agate/chalcedony, as indicated on the map of rock collecting sites in Te Ara (see photo on left below). The Otago Rock and Mineral Club have a photo of a botryoidal chalcedony with a movable cap from the Moeraki area and a piece from Moeraki sold last year from the Trevor Gray collection (photos centre and right below).

Source: https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/5113/rock-collecting-sites-in-new-zealand

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/theotagorockandmineralclub/photos-of-nz-rocks-minerals-and-fossils-1

Moeraki area botryoidal chalcedony. Source: https://www.facebook.com/TheFamilyJewelsDunedin/posts/154609632961753

Seam chalcedony or agate is a form of this type of rock where layers build up to fill cracks and cavities in sediments (instead of occurring in holes left by gas bubbles in volcanic rocks). Jocelyn Thornton’s “Gemstones” includes an example on page 11. Craig McGregor has an interest in a particular type of seam agate found on the beaches on the south side of the Moeraki Peninsula. He calls it “Tobacco Agate” because of its very streaky layering. Again, I was astounded to find a good-sized piece of seam agate high up the beach, with very few other stones around it.

“Top” of seam chalcedony, dry.

Seam chalcedony held up to sun.

“Bottom” of seam chalcedony, dry.

“Top” of seam chalcedony, dry.

“Side” of seam chalcedony, wet.

The sea-tumbled beach chalcedony/agate I found might have started off as a seam but through wave action, being rolled against sand and other stones, it became shaped into a rounder form. You can often see tiny “concussion” marks on the surface of beach chalcedony, caused by being slammed into rocks and stones by waves and/or the current. Such marks are most noticeable when the stone is dry.

The beach-tumbled chalcedony I found, dry.

Concussion marks.

After my visit to this small beach near Moeraki Village, I went south another few kilometres to the Katiki Beach North Reserve Rest Stop. I had noticed some stones on the beach there yesterday when driving past. A scattering of stones was to be seen across pa lot of the beach. A 20 minutes fossick turned up a handful of interesting stones, and the potential existed for more, but the afternoon was wearing on and I headed back north to Kakanui and my accommodation.

Katiki Beach, looking north.

Katiki Beach, looking south.

The scatter of stones on Katiki Beach.

Stones on Katiki Beach.

Katiki beach stone.

Katiki beach stone.

Katiki beach stone.

The next Post in this Series, on Days 21 and 22, is here.

Another South Island Fossicking Trip, February/ March 2021 – Days 17 and 18 (Gemstone Beach, Tsunami Alert)

See here for the first Post in this Series.

Day 17, Friday 5 March – Gemstone Beach. I had planned today to spend a few hours on Gemstone Beach. However, the North Island of New Zealand experienced a 7.1 magnitude earthquake at 2.27 am this morning off East Cape, waking many people. A tsunami alert was issued, but then later lifted. At 6.41 am, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck near the Kermadec Islands, 1,000 kilometres north-east of the country, followed by an 8.1 magnitude shake two hours later. Due to this new and increased tsunami risk, parts of the North Island coast were evacuated and the rest of New Zealand came under a beach and marine threat advisory that “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges near the shore are expected”. (See a newspaper article about this here.)

Even though Gemstone Beach was at the furthest point on the country’s southern coast from the tsunami threat, I decided not to proceed with my fossicking plans. All the alerts and advisories were eventually lifted in the afternoon, although people who ventured onto beaches were told to remain alert and cautious. In the late afternoon, I decided to make a short visit to Gemstone Beach (I spent 50 minutes there) where I kept well away from the waves and fossicked in and near the Taunoa Stream mouth, just 200 metres from the carpark.

The circled area was my fossicking area today. (The tide was further out than this when I was there.) Source: Google Maps.

Stones in the Taunoa Stream.

Stones in the Taunoa Stream.

I bought a booklet called “Orepuki and Surrounds Heritage Trail” from the Riverton Museum (“Te Hikoi”) shop which refers to the naming of Taunoa Stream. John Boultbee was an English sailor who arrived at nearby Pahia in 1826 and lived with the Maori there for a year. “In his journal, Boultbee noted a ‘small kainga Toonau’ (Taunoa). This village/kainga was situated near the mouth of the Taunoa Stream, one kilometre west of Orepuki. Twenty years after Boultbee had written about this village, there was nothing left of the site as the Taunoa Stream had become the sludge channel into which all the [gold] miners dumped their tailings” (page 11).

Here are six of the stones I found during my short visit to the mouth of the Taunoa Stream:

Today’s trace fossil stone, a small one with nicely defined traces.

One of the bigger stones I collected today.

Intriguing!

Other side of previous stone.

Small stone, with raised colourful segments.

This one was even smaller, but fascinating…

Small purple stone.

Previous stone from the top.

Very nice complex stone.

Day 18, Saturday 6 March – Last visit to Gemstone Beach. I managed to spend nearly 6 hours on the beach today, finally tearing myself away at 4 pm. The unsettled sea yesterday and overnight had stirred up the stones a bit, as I found some really interesting ones.

Looking across a bit of a wild sea at Gemstone Beach to the mountains of Eastern Fiordland.

Gemstone Beach further west.

Gemstone Beach waves.

Spot the pink stone…

The pink stone!

Gemstone Beach at the car park.

I decided today to show first of all a photo of a stone which gives some idea of its size in my hand, with the second image then being a cropped version of the first photo to show close-up details of the stone. As a result, the first photo may include glimpses of my gumboot and/or my camera wrist-strap. Here are six of today’s finds:

Unusual light colour, interesting inclusions.

Lots of greys.

Stunning small stone.

Very small stone…

Banded argillite, with some fault lines.

Small but vibrant.

Another eight:

Very small quartz stone.

Trace fossil stone,

Maybe because of the recently unsettled seas, I found more hydrogrossular garnets today than usual. This is the stone most sought after on Gemstone Beach. It is also the fourth of the 13 minerals first identified in New Zealand, having been identified in 1943. Here are six of the stones I found today that probably have hydrogrossular garnet in them:

Stone with hydrogrossular garnet in it.

Small white hydrogrossular garnet.

Slight green tint to this hydrogrossular garnet.

Nice brown hydrogrossular garnet.

The next Post in this Series deals with Days 19 and 20, on the start of my journey back north.

Another South Island Fossicking Trip, February/ March 2021 – Days 15 and 16 (Slope Point, Gemstone Beach)

The first Post in this Series is here.

Day 15, Wednesday 3 March – Slope Point. NOTE – OCTOBER 2023 – Landowners are now refusing access to this beach, so please do not visit there without permission. I spent four hours on a beach near Slope Point today, at low tide. Slope Point is the southernmost bit of land of the South Island, 70 kilometres east of Invercargill. The sea and wind can be ferocious here but today was very calm. I had visited the Point in 2018 but it is located high atop cliffs and I couldn’t see how to get down to any beach.

Slope Point is the southernmost part of the South Island. Source: Google Maps.

A photo taken when I visited Slope Point in 2018.

Slope Point itself is atop high cliffs with large waves pounding at it.

The small beach to the west of Slope Point that I visited with Oliver.

There is a useful page (p.35) on Slope Point in Jocelyn Thornton’s “Gemstones”. It is an area known for rhyolites and petrified wood and other volcanic pebbles and petrified material. Rhyolite is a volcanic rock with a high silica content (obsidian, pumice and ignimbrite are are common varieties of rhyolite). There is a photo of tumble-polished Slope Point rhyolites on Craig McGegor’s website. In 2019, I met Jack Geerlings on Gemstone Beach – he is a long-time rock hound and polisher from Winton. He invited me to visit him to view his collection. He had a number of polished rhyolite stones from Slope Point there.

Jack Geerling’s display of Slope Point rhyolite.

Jack Geerling’s collection.

Part of Jack Geerling’s display of Slope Point rhyolite.

Another part of Jack Geerling’s display of Slope Point rhyolite.

Access to a beach in the Slope Point area is not straightforward but it is well worth the efforts to get down to a beach. Many thanks to Oliver Simpson, contacted through the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils” for a very companionable time and for sharing his knowledge.

Looking at the northeast end of the small beach near Slope Point.

Looking back at where we had to drive to, over a couple of paddocks.

The stones on this Slope Point beach.

In behind the beach is a small lagoon with petrified wood in it.

Petrified wood in the small lagoon.

I found a few interesting stones, some of which were rhyolites, others maybe petrified wood or other material, along with some other kinds of stones like jasper and quartz.

Not sure what kind of stone this is – it could contain small fossils.

Probably rhyolite.

Jasper, I think.

I don’t know what this stone is. It was found by Oliver who generously gave it to me when I admired it.

Probably rhyolite.

Probably rhyolite.

Also probably rhyolite.

Petrified wood:

A hunk of petrified wood on the beach, about 15 cms across.

There are pieces of petrified wood in the rocks – this piece is about 4 cms long.

A lot of the petrified wood here is very dark, common in Southland.

Small piece of petrified wood.

Even smaller piece of petrified wood.

Two of Oliver’s pieces of petrified wood, each about 10-12 cms wide.

Finally, a few more Slope Point beach pebbles:

A type of quartz pebble.

Some kind of fossilised forest floor or??

Maybe a jasper?

Slope Point breccia.

Day 16, Thursday 4 March – 8th visit to Gemstone Beach. I spent four hours here today, around low tide. It was a cooler day, with a stiff wind, 12 degrees to start with. By the end of the four hours, it was sunny, my backpack was heavy, and it was 17 degrees.

Low tide at Gemstone Beach this morning.

Gemstone Beach stones.

This bank of stones is about 4 to 5 metres high.

Gemstone Beach stones.

Here’s six of my interesting finds:

Very unusual construction.

Gorgeous jasper.

Quartz.

Quartzite.

The mauve colour in this stone caught my attention. Probably mineral-stained quartz.

Interesting stone texture.

Another five interesting finds:

The ligh-coloured material is a higher surface than the dark.

Fine veins and pastel colours.

One of the hydrogrossular garnets I found today.

This type of stone can be found from time to time on the southern coast.

After my visit to Slope Point yesterday, I became more aware of rhyolite on Gemstone Beach.

Many stones on the beach are gorgeous but not all can be tumble polished, so I leave them behind. Some are too big or too pitted or too soft. Some examples from today of the “too big” type:

Quartz. Too big to tumble – left on the beach.

Also just a big too big.

Banded argillite. Left on beach as too big for my tumblers.

I wonder if the white material might be agate?? Or quartz?? Close-up next photo. Left on the beach because too big.

Quartz, too big.

Breccia with shell fossil, too big.

The next Post in this Series, for Days 17 and 18, reports on visits to Gemstone Beach but in contrasting circumstances, during a national tsunami alert.

Another South Island Fossicking Trip, February/ March 2021 – Days 13 and 14 (Gemstone Beach, The Beach Past the Back Beach at Riverton)

The first Post in this Series is here.

Day 13, Monday 1 March – 7th visit to Gemstone Beach. This visit lasted 4 1/2 hours, the sky was cloudy but the temperature was warm, and there was little wind. Today’s top four finds:

Not sure whether this might be fossil coral or not.

Other side of previous stone.

Probably banded argillite.

Other side of previous stone.

Another of those purple stones, with interesting inclusions.

Outstanding detail.

I think this is a quartzite. A small stone.

I went onto the beach this morning when the tide was low but starting to come in. Decided to walk westwards further than I normally do. However after two hours I decided to turn back as the waves were starting to get high on the beach. I made it back to the car park just in time. The waves were lapping the cliffs in places, and it wasn’t even fully high tide. Much care needs to be taken at Gemstone Beach as the waves are powerful and the banks of stones can be steep, and the cliffs are right at the back of much of the beach.

Gemstone Beach early on in my visit.

Later, Gemstone Beach with high powerful waves sprinting up the banks of stones. The beach near the car park is more benign though care is always required.

Here are five more of today’s finds:

Today’s “pinkie”.

Banded ignimbrite.

Quite a small stone.

I don’t know what this is.

Probably iron-stained quartz of some sort.

Day 14, Tuesday 2 March – The Beach Past the Back Beach, Riverton – I spent just over an hour at this beach this morning, at low tide, the best time to get around the rocks. (Two years ago I did a Post on some stones from this beach which included a location map.) I walked over a hill to get there, then once on the beach walked back towards the Back Beach, eventually prevented from getting right back to it by high rocks, stopping only 100 to 150 metres from the Back Beach.

The western half of the Beach Past the Back Beach. Tihaka Beach and Colac Bay are a few kilometres further on. Most of this morning’s fossicking was behind me, to the east, amongst the rocks there.

Looking back over the hill I had just come over to get to this beach. The Back Beach is on the other side of the hill.

Stones on the Beach Past the Back Beach.

The start of the rocks at the eastern end of the sweep of the Beach Past the Back Beach.

This was as far as I could go this morning. The small cove that is part of the Back Beach is just around the first large rock on the left.

Lots of patches of stones among the rocks. At high tide, this is under about a metre of water.

Lots of stones can be found in these nooks and crannies. See next photo.

This rock is about 5 to 6 metres high.

There are lots of stones on the Beach Past the Back Beach, many similar to Gemstone Beach but not usually of the same bright colours.

Quartzite, probably.

A different coloured quartzite.

This is a small white hydrogrossular garnet. Not usually found this far east along the coast. I have been told of the rare one turning up here, and have found a couple of lower-quality ones in the past two years.

A thulite stone but not as pink as the ones I have found on Gemstone Beach and at McCracken’s Rest. The pink is due to manganese.

Trace fossil stones (argillite) can be found here (and on other Riverton beaches).

An interesting stone due to its band.

An interesting green.

A complex construction.

Interesting hue of blue.

Returning over the hill to my car, I saw a surfer at the Back Beach and took some photos of him. Looking at one of the photos later, I realised there was a dolphin out there as well. On the way back to where I was staying, I passed a spot where I had seen a foiling wind surfer two days previously. Driving past Henderson’s Bay, a stand up paddle boarder could be seen. Later at the crib at Taramea Bay, a man flew a kite in the stiff wind.

Circled in this photo of the Back Beach surfer is a dolphin.

The dolphin.

The surfer, having caught a wave.

The Henderson’s Bay stand up paddle boarder.

A foiling wind surfer near the Back Beach.

Soneone flying a kite at Taramea Bay, Riverton.

The next Post in this Series can be found here, including a trip to Slope Point.

Another South Island Fossicking Trip, February/ March 2021 – Days 11 and 12 (McCracken’s Rest, Gemstone Beach)

The first Post in this Series is here.

Day 11, Saturday 27 February – This afternoon I spent four hours on the Te Waewae Bay beach, accessed from the lookout at McCracken’s Rest, a small off-road parking area eight kilometres west of Gemstone Beach (Orepuki). The coastline of Te Waewae Bay is 27 kilometres long, with Gemstone Beach near the eastern end.

Te Waewae Bay on Foveaux Strait. Source: Google Maps.

Sign post at McCracken’s Rest.

The red pointer is Grindstone Creek – I walked from McCracken’s Rest to about 400 metres past the Creek’s outlet on the beach. Source: Google Maps.

Pointer is at Grindstone Creek. I walked to the point marked by the black cross (lower right). Source: Google Maps.

Part of an Information Panel at McCracken’s Rest.

There are a number of excellent information panels at McCracken’s Rest.

From McCracken’s Rest I walked east for about two kilometres. The beach is largely a continuation of Gemstone Beach, with many of the stones similar. However, there is a little less diversity and a few more bigger stones. The key to a successful fossick on the beach at McCracken’s Rest is timing – most of the stones are high up the beach and in order to see them wet, you need to be there close to high tide. I recommend the period from about 30 to 60 minutes before high tide through to two hours after. Furthermore, take care! The waves are powerful. This is not a swimming beach. Don’t get caught by a wave. Note: Beach access is difficult at McCracken’s Rest, you have to climb over a fence and go down a steep slope.

Looking back up at the McCracken’s Rest lookout from the beach.

Looking east. Gemstone Beach is right in the left distance, 7 kms away. In the distance (centre) is Pahia Hill.

Looking west, towards the Fiordland mountains.

The waves are powerful – you need to be very careful not to get caught by one.

Stones get kicked up by the waves as they hit the beach.

As the tide gets lower, the stones (left) become dry and dull-looking. The lower part of the beach consists of tiny stones.

Grindstone Creek. I turned around about 400 metres past here.

I collected a range of interesting stones east of McCracken’s Rest. Here are four of the smaller ones:

I also found some more pink thulite stones, both small and large:

A large pink stone – it’s about 15 cms in length. I left it on the beach, far too big for me to tumble polish and too heavy to add to my backpack.

Close-up of large pink stone.

Very small pink stone.

Close-up of very small pink stone.

The big and the small.

A dry pink stone – quite big but as I found it near the end of my walk, I decided to keep it. Next photo is of the same stone wet.

The previous stone, but wet. Very pink. Thulite, with the pink caused by the presence of manganese.

Close-up of previous stone.

A few more stones collected from the beach near McCracken’s Rest:

I found a slightly smaller bright purple stone like this yesterday. This one is even better.

Volcanic? Often these stones are chipped or a fragment has fallen out. This stone is is excellent condition.

I am always attracted to stones with veins like this.

The flash of red caught my eye. My backpack was heavy at this stage and I decided to leave this one on the beach.

Nicely shaped trace fossil stone, unusual colour.

Day 12, Sunday 28 February – Gemstone Beach visit again. Arrived at high tide this afternoon and spent three hours on the beach. Weather was partly cloudy and warm. The waves were lapping the cliffs when I got there so I spent the first 40 minutes on the beach in front of the car park and near the Taunoa Stream.

High tide. Standing a couple of hundred metres west of the carpark, looking at where the Taunoa Stream crosses the beach.

The same part of the beach three hours after high tide.

There were a few other people on the beach. I spoke for a while with a couple from Manapouri who were very interested in the stones on the beach, and another couple from Tauranga who were fossicking for hydrogrossular garnets. I found some more gorgeous stones today, some of them in or near the Taunoa Stream. Here are the two outstanding finds of the day: