Category: Ward Beach

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.

The Series Index can be found here.

Early 2024 Fossicking Trip – Part 1, “So Many Miles…” Ward Beach, Timaru and Kakanui, Tuesday 13 February and Wednesday 14 February

It’s been nine months since I last visited South Island beaches. So I am on my way south again. These days, I play this piece of music when starting a trip.

Time has come to go
Pack your bags, hit the open road
Our hearts just won’t die
It’s the trip keeps us alive…–

I left Whanganui last Monday morning, nearly four days ago. First stop after the Cook Strait ferry was Ward Beach on Tuesday morning where I spent an hour just after high tide. It being summer, there were quite a few campers there, mainly camper-vans. There were also some dolphins in the bay in front of the carpark.

Looking south from Ward Beach in front of the carpark.
Looking back towards the carpark and the campers.
Flaxbourne River mouth – hardly any flow (it comes in from the right) and cut off from the sea.
How fishing boats are launched here.
When I arrived, these people were looking at the dolphins.
Quick glimpse of a couple of dolphins.
The Hectors dolphin typical dorsal fin.

I didn’t wander far on the beach but picked up a few interesting stones before hitting the road again.

Ward Beach stone. Maybe limestone with veins of quartz or chalcedony??
Similar stone, but with some dendrites.
Photographed dry, this is an intriguing stone with numerous tiny white crystals.
I find it hard to resist these trace fossil stones.

I visited two beaches on Wednesday. I stopped off first at Timaru South, at the end of Scarborough Road. I spent just over an hour walking south towards the lighthouse and back.

Looking north towards Timaru city.
Looking south, the part of the beach I walked along.
Some recent anti-erosion work.
I turned back well before the lighthouse.

Again, I found a few interesting stones, though most had been bashed about a bit – the resulting chips provide a challenge for the tumble polisher.

Very interesting quartzite!
Some gorgeous green stones appear on this beach.
Quartzite.
Small jasper.
Another quartzite.
A “spotty” stone.

On Wednesday afternoon I arrived in Kakanui, having driven 850 kiolometres from home, and spent some time at Seadown Beach. It has changed significantly since I was last here nine months ago. Large amounts of sand have been heaped up and most of the stones have been covered. I was there at a very low tide and there were scatterings of wet stones along the waves’ edge.

Seadown Beach in front of the parking area, February 2024 – a massive mound of sand.
The same beach two years ago.
The scattering of stones along the wave edge at Seadown Beach, February 2024..
To the south of the parking area, looking north, February 2024 – these rocks are usually inaccessible. The tide was very low.

I was especially alert for two types of stones here – the hard brown ones that contain bryozoa fossils and the softer lighter-coloured ones that I call “fossilised seafloor” stones. I found one of the former, a few of the latter, as well as some nice quartzites and jaspers.

Small stone with tiny bryozoa fossils.
One of the fossilised seas-floor stones.
Interesting quartzite.
Quartzite, I think.
Small dark jasper.

I also visited the beach further south of Kakanui to check out what stones were now to be found there, with some success.

I woke up on Thursday with two problems. My calf muscles were very sore from all the walking in soft sand I had done the previous day, and my mobile phone needed replacing. So I drove back to Timaru to sort the phone, and then rested up in the afternoon back in Kakanui instead of doing more fossicking.

For more information on Ward Beach, see here: on Timaru South, see here; on Kakanui’s Seadown Beach, see here.

The next Part of this Series is here. The Series Index is here.  

Southern Sojourn 2023(59): The Trip North – Ward Beach Fossick and Overnight Motel Stay, Thursday 4 May

Today I drove from Christchurch to Ward, a small town south of Blenheim. I stayed there at the motel overnight before driving to Picton early on Friday morning to catch a Cook Strait ferry – the one hour drive to Picton suits my timetable. Ronnie and Ian, who manage the Flaxbourne Motel and Camp Ground, have shown interest in TumbleStone Blog, pinning a printout of my Ward Beach page on the Camp Ground noticeboard.

Ward Beach is six kilometres from Ward, and I spent 90 minutes there in the early afternoon before going to the motel. It had just rained when I arrived so all of the stones on the beach were wet, a real bonus.

Ward Beach, in front of the carpark. Photo from phone.
Wet stones, Ward Beach. Photo from phone.

I found a nice black agate-veined stone early on in my fossick, within the first 10 metres of stepping onto the beach in front of the carpark.

I later found this lighter-coloured version whose veins had suffered some stress:

I looked out especially for agate- and quartz-veined stones, as well as for trace fossils (zoophycos) in limestone pebbles. The following three stones are: a small black agate veined one; one that has whitish spots that look like crystals but seem less straightforward than that; and a trace fossil stone.

Four stones that are mainly limestone, a couple with flint inclusions:

Finally, another six I collected this afternoon:

Trace fossil stone.
Some dendrites.
More dendrites.

I collected a few stones with flint inclusions, a mix of harder with softer materials – I may try tumbling these sometime to see the outcome. Many of the interesting stones at Ward Beach are soft limestone and are not likely to tumble-polish well.

On Friday morning, my Cook Strait ferry crossing ran on time and the sea was amazingly as flat as a pancake. I arrived home in Whanganui in the afternoon, ending my “Southern Sojourn” of fossicking.

On the ferry, coming into Wellington Harbour, flat as a pancake. Phone photo through porthole window, and it’s raining.

An Index to the “Southern Sojourn 2023” Series is here.

Southern Sojourn 2023(1): The Trip South – Wednesday 18 January, Ward Beach and Leithfield Beach

Post 1
Post 2
Post 3 https://tumblestoneblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/04/southern-sojourn-the-trip-south-friday-20-january-kakanui/
Post 4 https://tumblestoneblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/05/southern-sojourn-first-fossick-at-gemstone-beach-sunday-22-january/
Post 5 https://tumblestoneblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/05/southern-sojourn-slope-point-two-visits-monday-tuesday-23-24-january/

I have been able to arrange an accommodation base in Riverton Aparima in Southland for a few weeks, possibly a few months. This means my tumblers have become silent and my focus has turned to fossicking once again, after six months spent at home. I crossed Cook Strait by ferry on Tuesday 17 January, spending the night at Ward. The next morning, I drove out to Ward Beach, spending just under two hours there. As it is the height of the summer holiday season, quite a few campers were located at the ground at the back of the beach. A few large vehicles for launching boats were also at the back of the beach. The day was cloudy, with low clouds hiding the tops of the hills. I decided to cross the Flaxbourne River and walk southwards as I had not been down that way previously. This will give me an opportunity to collect information about this area to add to the TumbleStoneTwo page on Ward Beach.

At this time of the year, the Flaxbourne River has only a very light flow. Last time I was here, in July 2022, the river had been in flood, and the beach was piled high with forestry slash and the water was heavy with silt.

The Ward Beach boulders, to the north of the carpark.
Forestry slash on Ward Beach, July 2022.
Forestry slash on Ward Beach, July 2022.

Easily wading the river’s trickle today, with the beach being clear of the slash, I passed a seal sunbathing on nearby rocks. The beach to the south initially contains a lot of rocks on the seaward side of the pebbly beach, with pockets of stones sometimes lying in-between the rocks. Jagged outcrops of limestone thrust up through the sand and pebbles. Then there is a long sweeping beach, at the end of which is Needles Point. The Needles are a spectacular coastal limestone outcrop about three kilometres south of Ward Beach (another is Chancet Rocks to the north).

Ward Beach, from the River Mouth to the Chancet Rocks. Google Maps https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-41.8401934,174.1784636,2019m/data=!3m1!1e3
Topo map of Ward Beach, from The Needles to Chancet Rocks. http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&ll=-41.852834,174.136606&z=14
From the Flaxbourne River Mouth to The Needles. Google Maps https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-41.8500971,174.1750486,1010m/data=!3m1!1e3
The area I visited on 18 January 2023. Google Maps
Ward Beach, 18 January 2023, in front of the carpark, looking a little south.
Looking from the carpark to the river mouth
The Flaxbourne River as it is about to flow into the sea.
Looking back to the carpark and camping area from the river mouth.
Seal on rocks near the river mouth.
One of the jagged limestone outcrops. The Needles in the far background.
The first part of the beach south of the river mouth is dominated by rocks.
Stones can be found amidst the rocks.
Some boulder-like rocks here too.
After the rock stretch, there is a sweeping pebble beach all the way to The Needles.
The Needles.
A photo of The Needles. Marlborough Museum website https://virtualexhibit.marlboroughmuseum.org.nz/mhs/vewebsite32/exhibit5/e50342b.htmlfrom

Among the stones found during my fossick were a few with agate in them. In this stone, the agate has filled holes in what I think likely is limestone.

Ward Beach stone.

The following type of agate-veined limestone pebble can also be found on Ward Beach. Below it is a veined limestone pebble where agate is not apparent.

At one point on the beach, there was a white rock about 35 cm long with some agate veins. This contrasts in size to a small white and black pebble I found, about 2 cm long.

Rock in the sand/pebbles on Ward Beach.
Small Ward Beach stone.

There is a great range of limestone pebbles here of different colours and textures. Many of them contain zoophycos trace fossils (see here).

Zoophycos trace fossil in limestone.

Two other stones I found today – the first is maybe brecciated limestone, 4 cm long, and the second a granite or basalt porphyry, containing feldspar crystals, that is about 6 cm long (for more information on the second type of stone, see Stone #2 in this Post).

Brecciated limestone?
Volcanic porphyry stone.

A drive of just over three hours then took me 230 kms south to Leithfield Beach in Canterbury, just north of Christchurch. I know fossickers have found petrified wood and interesting jaspers here. I often drop in on this beach on my way past, though it has not proved very productive for me (except the day I found five pieces of petrified wood – see “L” is for “Leithfield Beach Petrified Wood” in the second part of this Post). Today, I decided to visit the section of beach just a little south of where I normally go, spending an hour there. I parked near the community hall and public toilets.

The short trail between the carpark and the beach.
Looking north towards old stormwater drain pipes.
Looking south, dog walker in far distance.
The stones on Leithfield Beach.

I find it difficult to find a stone on Leithfield Beach that is not pitted or has chunks taken out of it. However the jaspers can be irresistible. Here are four of the jaspers I found.

Some agate in this gorgeous small jasper (3 cm long)
6 cm long jasper.
Other side of stone.

Next stops, next day, will be Timaru South and Kakanui’s Seadown Beach. See this Post for my fossick at Timaru South. The Index to the whole Series is here.

June-July 2022 Fossicking Trip: 19) Ward Beach Bonus

Driving the 260 kilometres from Kakanui to Christchurch yesterday (Tuesday 12 July) was quite a challenge, with persistent heavy rain. There was some flooding across parts of the road, especially north of Ashburton, and at times the temperature got down to three degrees before going back up to seven. The weather was good today (Wednesday 13 July) and the road from Christchurch to Ward (a 300 kms trip) was relatively clear, with few disruptions. I stopped off briefly at Leithfield Beach, about 40 kilometres north of Christchurch. The effects of a recent high swell were very apparent here, with scattered pieces of driftwood across the carpark and retaining-wall-tyres moved out onto the beach. A quick fossick yielded very little, mainly a piece of brown sea glass.

The front of the carpark.
Some of the tyres used to protect the carpark have been moved by the sea.
Looking south towards old wastewater pipes.
A couple of stones from Leithfield Beach today, quartz and andesite(?), both left there.
Piece of brown sea glass.

I was able to reach Ward in time to make a trip out to Ward Beach for just over an hour. The waves were massive there, powerful and threatening. The sea at the beach in front of the carpark was dark and muddy from the flooding Flaxbourne River. Both the tide and the wind were high, spray whipping from the breaking waves. Drift wood, most of it the results of forestry activity upstream, I would guess, was piled up at the high tide mark. The sea had swept stones onto the seaward face of the wood, and the most powerful of the waves were starting to come over the top of that. It was interesting to compare the landscape with what it looked like when I visited on my way south, four weeks ago.

Flaxbourne River at Ward Beach, four weeks ago.
Flaxbourne River in flood, probably at least a metre lower than the day before.
Ward Beach four weeks ago.
Ward Beach today.
Mouth of Flaxbourne River four weeks ago, a couple of metres wide.
Flaxbourne River mouth today.
Ward Beach four weeks ago.

I made the sensible decision to stay well away from the wet stones and fossicked among the dry stones further up the beach.

Logs near the mouth of the Falxbourne River.
A muddy sea.
My fossicking area.
Dry Ward Beach stones.

I decided to not focus on zoophycos trace fossil stones, as I often do at Ward Beach. Instead I searched mainly for limestone stones with veins or flint in them.

Flint at the top of this stone.
Mainly flint.

I also came across some nice patterned stones. I’m not sure how all these finds will tumble, some of them may be too soft.

A little out of focus.

A ferry trip across Cook Strait tomorrow is scheduled, an early morning start ahead of me to get to the Picton wharf on time to catch it. [The crossing was a smooth one and I reached home in Whanganui safely, 3,600 kilometres after leaving.]

A shorter version of this Post first appeared in the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. The first Post in the Series is here. An Index to the whole Series is here.

June-July 2022 Fossicking Trip: 1) Ward Beach

TumbleStoneTwo webpage on Ward Beach.
Looking towards the Ward Beach carpark from near the Flaxbourne River mouth. Camping area in behind carpark.
Powerful waves at Ward Beach today.
Ward Beach stones.

I have embarked on another beach stone fossicking trip to the South Island – I live near Whanganui and make a trip like this by car about three times a year. After an at times rough Cook Strait ferry crossing on Tuesday (21 June), I drove to the small town of Ward for an overnight stay. I made my first beach visit of the trip on Wednesday morning, driving the six kilometres to Ward Beach for a 90 minute fossick.

Main areas of Ward Beach that I have visited so far over the last two years. Base map = Google Maps.
Ward Beach Reserve and carpark area. From information signage at the beach.
Beach in front of Ward Beach carpark, looking towards Flaxbourne River mouth area.
The stone bank, in front of the Ward Beach carpark.

When I arrived at the beach at 9 a.m., it was cold, about five degrees, but mainly sunny and there was not much wind. Due to recent storms causing heavy swells, the waves were large and powerful. I have recently written a page on Ward Beach for my new website TumbleStoneTwo, so it was interesting to visit in person again. I was also able to take some photos I need to round out the page.

I found some interesting zoophycos stones, a couple with an unusual red stain, but no agates this time.

Probably a limestone, with red staining.
Zoophycos trace fossil in limestone.
This stone has a slightly raised trace fossil 2/3s up its length.
Nice black trace fossil.
Pastel grey-brown stone.
Some kind of brecciated stone, I think.

I have not yet tried to polish the zoophycos stones as they tend to be softish limestone. But I intend to experiment with them sometime, maybe see what a straight polish tumble will do.

Powerful waves at Ward Beach.
Ward Beach.
Ward Beach stones.
Mouth of the Flaxbourne River, quite narrow at this point, maybe a couple of metres. Rock to left was uplifted by the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.

A shortened version of this Post first appeared in the Facebook Group “New Zealand Lapidary, Rocks, Minerals, Fossils”. The next Post in this Series is on my visit to Birdlings Flat. A Series Index is here.

TS2 – WARD BEACH: MY STONE FOSSICKING

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Ward Beach, looking towards the carpark from near the Flaxbourne River mouth.
Ward Beach stones.
Zoophycos trace fossil stone from Ward Beach.
Small Ward Beach agate.

I first drove out to Ward Beach in August 2020. Since then, I have visited it from time to time during my South Island fossicking trips, often during the journey back north. The following are Posts on TumbleStone Blog describing my visits to date, listed in chronological order:

Return to WARD BEACH

HOME – FOSSICKING BEACHES – BEACH STONES – TUMBLE-POLISHING

TS2 – WARD BEACH

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Information Panel, Ward Beach.
Information Panel, Ward Beach.
Ward Beach, looking over the carpark (middle distance) to Weld Cone.
A Ward Beach boulder.

Ward Beach is about six kilometres off the main road east from the small village of Ward in Marlborough. Ward is 82 kilometres north of Kaikoura and 45 kilometres south of Blenheim. I often stay at the Flaxbourne Motel in Ward on my fossicking trips to Southland as it is about an hour’s drive from the Picton ferry. However, it was not until August 2020 that I took the side trip to Ward Beach. In her book “The New Zealand Rockhound” (1981), Natalie Fernandez notes on page 113 that “flint, jasper, agate and fossil sponge” can be found here. I particularly look for stones of fine-grained limestone with zoophycos (trace fossils) which look quite soft so I haven’t tried to tumble polish them. In fact, I have not tumbled any Ward Beach stones to date, mainly because I have been focusing on stones from other beaches.

Ward Beach is set among spectacular scenery – high hills with steep slopes and a coastline with interesting rock formations. Driving from Ward to Ward Beach, there is a railway crossing with no bells/lights, a couple of one-way bridges, and a cattle-stop which you need to drive over very slowly.

Leaving Ward.
No lights or bells at the railway crossing.
One of the one-way bridges on the way to Ward Beach.
A very bumpy cattle-stop that needs to be driven over at a crawl.

The last two kilometres out to the beach is on gravel road through a small valley, with the Flaxbourne River alongside. The river reaches the coast just south of the carpark. The 368 metres high Weld Cone dominates the landscape to the south. The Ward Beach boulders (dolomite concretions that are 65 million years old) are 800 metres north of the carpark, maybe 10 minutes’ walk away. The beach was uplifted about two and a half metres by the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, unveiling the boulders. See here for a good introduction to Ward Beach on the RV Explorer website, and here for a YouTube video of Ward Beach by a caravanner on holiday there. A YouTube video with drone footage of Ward Beach is here.

Ward Beach fossicking area. Source: https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-41.8401934,174.1784636,2019m/data=!3m1!1e3
Ward Beach carpark.
Public toilet behind carpark.
View of Ward Beach carpark from the south.
Flaxbourne River, view from near carpark.
View of Ward Beach carpark from the north.
Ward Beach.
Ward Beach.

The main features of Ward Beach to the north of the Flaxbourne River are indicated on the map above (far left). Up behind the carpark is the Chancet Park overnight parking area, set up for members of the NZ Motor Caravanners Association, but also available to anyone with a self-contained van. A public toilet is also behind the carpark. The Flaxbourne River mouth is to the south of the carpark (see photos below) – I have fossicked up the river a way, there being stones on the riverbed and along the margins. North of the mouth is the main beach, in front of the carpark, another good place for fossicking. At low tide, the beach can be partly sandy, the stones mainly being higher up. The slope here can be steep, and powerful incoming waves can be dangerous.

Seal on a rock at the Flaxbourne River mouth. The river runs in from the right, in front of the rock, but the incoming tide is pushing over the river water.
Looking up the Flaxbourne River., about 250 metres from the mouth
Alongside the Flaxbourne River.
The beach in front of the carpark at Ward Beach.
Ward Beach in front of the carpark.
The beach in front of the carpark at Ward Beach.
Ward Beach stones, in front of carpark.
Stones on Ward Beach.
Ward Beach stones.
Powerful waves at Ward Beach.

Just north of here is a stretch dominated by rock platforms, though some small pockets of stones exist. The Ward Beach boulders are about halfway along this rocky part of the shore.

Part of the rock platform.
Part of the rock platform.
Part of the rock platform.
Some of the Ward Beach boulders.
A Ward Beach boulder,
The stony beach north of the rock platform. Chancet Rocks in the far distance.
The stony beach north of the rock platform. Looking south.
Stones on the beach north of the rock platform.

Beyond that, there is a sweeping stretch of beach that is sandy and stony, with the stones mainly at or above the high tide line (see photo above, lower row, second from left). A lot of the stones are quite small. After a small bay, some rocks run out from the shore, home to a fur seal colony. Just a few metres from here are the Chancet Rocks, a limestone outcrop. This area is a scientific reserve.

Fur seals at Ward Beach.
Fur seals at Ward Beach.
Chancet Rocks.
Chancet Rocks.

The Ward Beach page on Marlborough Online highlights the significance of the reserve: Following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, significant uplift of 2.2–2.6m occurred at Ward Beach exposing sedimentary rocks from the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-T) boundary, approximately 66 million years ago, when a major mass extinction event occurred, ending the age of dinosaurs. The K-T boundary is a thin layer of dark grey clay in sedimentary rocks with a highly elevated level to normal of the rare element iridium, caused by a massive meteorite impact that left global fallout. The best place to observe the K-T boundary is about a kilometre north of Ward Beach at the Chancet Rocks reserve.

The beach to the south of the Flaxbourne River can be accessed only by fording the river. In summer, this is usually not a problem but it can be impossible after winter rainfall.

Topo map of Ward Beach, from The Needles to Chancet Rocks. https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&ll=-41.85346,174.169858&z=14
From the Flaxbourne River Mouth south to The Needles. Google Maps http://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-41.8580565,174.1688259,4038m/data=!3m1!1e3
The first kilometre south of the Flaxbourne River mouth. Google Maps.
The Flaxbourne River as it is about to flow into the sea. Low summer flow.

Initially, the pebbly beach just to the south of the river contains a lot of rocks on the seaward side, with pockets of stones sometimes lying in-between the rocks. Walking further, jagged outcrops of limestone thrust up through the sand and pebbles. Three kilometres along a long sweeping beach is Needles Point. The Needles are a spectacular coastal limestone outcrop, a bit like Chancet Rocks to the north.

The bed of the Flaxbourne River during low summer flow.
Looking back at the carpark and camping area from the south bank of the river.
One of the jagged limestone outcrops just to the south of the river. The Needles in the far distance.
The first part of the beach south of the river mouth is dominated by rocks like these.
Stones can be found amidst the rocks.
After the rock stretch, there is a sweeping pebble beach all the way to The Needles.
The Needles.

Other TumbleStoneTwo Page on Ward Beach:

WARD BEACH: MY STONE FOSSICKING

HOME – ABOUT ME – FOSSICKING BEACHES – BEACH STONES – TUMBLE-POLISHING

February-March 2022 Fossicking Trip: Stone of the Day #27, Ward Beach Agate

Today was my final beach visit for this trip. I went to Ward Beach, five kilometres east of the small village of Ward (which is 45 kms south of Blenheim). I spent nearly four hours on the beach, arriving at high tide. I kept on getting distracted by the spectacular geographical setting, the fascinating rock formations, and the wildlife, especially the seals. However, I did manage to do some fossicking. I am vaguely aware that some kind of agates are found here but I have not found any in my visits to the beach so far. And then, three-quarters through my time here today, I came across this gorgeous one:

Stone of the Day #27, agate from Ward Beach.

I had been wondering if I just wasn’t recognising agates on the beach, but when I saw this stone it caught my eye immediately, the wet exposed agate sparkling in the sun. It is a small stone, between two and three centimetres long.

Other side of Stone #27.

I then found a very small agate, and recognised that two light-coloured stones I found had agate veins:

Very small agate.
One side of agate-veined stone.
Other side.
Another agate-veined stone.

I have an interest in Ward Beach’s zoophycos stones (see this Post for an introduction to these and this Post for a number of examples). I found some more nice specimens today:

Zoophycos stone.
Zoophycos stone.
Zoophycos stone.

I walked along about two kilometres of the coast (and back), from the mouth of the Flaxbourne River in the south (see A on the map below left) to the Chancet Rocks in the north (D on the map).

Ward Beach. Source: Google Maps.
Looking back towards the carpark from the area of the boulders.
Ward Beach stones.

Key to Map (above left): A = Flaxbourne River Mouth; B = Carpark; C = Ward Beach Boulders; D = Chancet Rocks; E = Seal Colony.

The Ward Beach Boulders are large concretions, about one metre high, and they are scattered along a 250 metre section of the beach. They are smaller than the Moeraki Boulders (see Stone of the Day #22).

Ward Beach boulders.
One of the boulders has this hollow.
Two people walking past the boulders.

The Chancet Rocks are the remains of tilted limestone strata. I estimate that they are maybe 20 metres at the highest point. Some of the lower strata in the sand next to the higher pieces are a soft pink colour.

Chancet Rocks.
Chancet Rocks.
Soft pink limestone near Chancet Rocks.

Just to the east of the Chancet Rocks is a seal colony. Many seals were active today, swimming in the bay as well as climbing onto rocks to sunbathe. Most of them were on a couple of large off-shore rocks but some were on the beach.

Chancet Rocks in far distance to left, seal colony territory to the right of them.
Large off-shore rock with seals.
Close-up of large off-shore rock with seals.
Seal swimming in foreground.
Two shags and two seals.

Tomorrow I catch the ferry to the North Island, drive home to Whanganui, off-load the stones, and think about starting up the tumblers again.

[I arrived home on schedule, having driven a total of 4,100 kms, bringing 97 kgs of stones with me.]

The first Post in this Series is here. The Index to all the Posts in the Series is here.

TumbleStone Calendar 2022 – The Beaches, Part One

2022 Calendar Cover
October
Kakanui, January
Slope Point, February
Riverton, March

The 2022 TumbleStone Calendar features ten photos of beaches that I have visited recently in order to collect stones to tumble polish. With one exception, these are South Island beaches visited on the date that the photo was taken (photos of three stones I found on that beach on that day are also included for each month). For the months of June and December, I feature close-ups of stones from the previous five months. In this Post, I provide the specific locations for January to May of each beach and link to any previous Post about the day I visited there. Part Two deals with the months of July to November.

JANUARY, Kakanui, 19 February 2021 – The location of this beach is two kilometres north of Kakanui village, a few kilometres south of Oamaru in North Otago. The beach sweeps northwards from a small roadside car park near the intersection of Seadown Road and Thousand Acre Road. See here for the beach on Google Maps. The photo in the Calendar was taken looking south towards the southernmost start of the beach. For the Post about my visit to that beach on 19 February 2021, see Day Three of this Post.

FEBRUARY, Slope Point, 12 & 18 June 2021 – This is one of a small number of fossicking beaches just to the west of Slope Point in the Catlins, the southernmost point of the South Island. Access is across private land so permission should be sought. The sea is often rough and tides are strong. This particular beach is known to at least some locals as Bach Beach because of a solitary holiday home overlooking it. It has a high cliff to the north which often keeps the beach in shade. See here for the beach on Google Maps. Click these links for my 2021 visits to that beach on 12 June and on 18 June.

MARCH, Riverton, 2 March 2021 – The Back Beach at Riverton/Aparima, Southland, is located along the last stretch of the Rocks Highway. It lies directly across Foveaux Strait from Rakiura/Stewart Island, so the tides are strong and swimming is not recommended. The photo in the Calendar is taken in a small bay at the western end of the Back Beach, right in front of the turning area at the end of the Rocks Highway, and looking towards the Howell Point Lookout. The three stones for March were collected just on the other side of the Lookout, on what I call the Beach Past the Back Beach. See here for the area on Google Maps. For the Post about my fossicking visit there on 2 March 2021, see Day 14 in this Post.

APRIL, Gemstone Beach, 18 & 19 September 2021 – This beach is located about one kilometre west of Orepuki in Southland which is about 20 minutes drive from Riverton/Aparima. Gemstone Beach lies on the coast of Te Waewae Bay, towards its eastern end, and large banks of stones run from there northwestwards for a number of kilometres. The photo in the Calendar is of the beach immediately in front of the carpark (on Mullans Road West), looking southeast, and includes a few fossickers – this is the direction towards Monkey Island and this part of the beach usually has very few stones. See here for the beach on Google Maps. I did not Post about my visits to Gemstone Beach in September 2021. However, a good idea of the beach and the area northwestwards is provided in this 2019 Post.

MAY, Ward Beach, 12 March 2021 – Ward Beach, Marlborough, is about six kilometres off the main road east from the small village of Ward in the Flaxbourne District, 82 kilometres north of Kaikoura and 45 kilometres south of Blenheim. The Flaxbourne River reaches the coast at Ward Beach, which is set among spectacular scenery – high hills with steep slopes and a coastline with interesting rock formations. The Ward Beach boulders (concretions) are not far from the car park (maybe 10 minutes’ walk north). The beach was uplifted by the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, unveiling the boulders. The best part of the beach for stones is immediately in front of the car park, though it can be steep as it gets closer to the water and the incoming waves can be dangerous. The photo in the Calendar of the beach is looking north towards the carpark from near the Flaxbourne River mouth. The rocks in the foreground are visible only at low tide. See here for the beach on Google Maps. Regarding my visit to that beach on 12 March 2021, see Day 24 in this Post.

Continued in Part Two.