Tag: Birdlings Flat

Nine Milestones at Journey’s End

For a number of years before I retired from the University of Waikato, I assisted with the supervision of Gemma Piercy-Cameron’s PhD thesis. Gemma was finally successful in completing her grand project, Baristas: The Artisan Precariat, a few months ago. Currently, Gemma is a Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Waikato (see her Staff Profile). I presented her with nine milestones to mark her accomplishment.

The following letter accompanied Gemma’s milestones (photos added here):

Why Nine Stones?
Nine is seen to have philosophical significance, due to its unique numerical attributes. In the Hebrew tradition, for instance, Nine represents truth, since it reproduces itself when multiplied. Multiply any number by 9, then add the resulting digits and reduce them to a single digit, it always becomes a 9 again, e.g., 6 x 9 = 54, 5 + 4 = 9; 23 x 9 = 207, 2 + 0 + 7 = 9. Another attribute of Nine is that when added to any other number and then that number is reduced to a single digit, it always comes back to itself, as if nothing was added at all. For example, 5 + 9 = 14, 1 + 4 = 5; 7 + 9 = 16, 1 + 6 = 7. Nine is the Triple Triad, consisting of three times three, and so is seen as symbolic of completion, fulfillment, attainment, the beginning and the end, the ultimate whole number. Appropriate to recognise the completion of a PhD!

Stone #1 “Coffee”

Stone 1 “Coffee”
Other side of Stone 1 “Coffee”

Unknown type, collected at Riverton (Southland) July 2017, polishing completed September 2017. Polishing brought out the creamy swirl that reminded me so strongly of coffee and latte art that I knew it was destined for you.

Back Beach, Riverton, Stewart Island in background (left)
Western end of Back Beach, Riverton
Gull and stones, Back Beach, Riverton

Stone #2 “Positioned Sparkle”

Stone 2 “Positioned Sparkle”, full of quartz and large mica crystals
Same face of Stone 2 “Positioned Sparkle”
Reverse face of Stone 2 “Positioned Sparkle”
Detail of some of Stone 2’s large mica crystals

Mica-rich pegmatite rock, collected at Joyce Bay (near Charleston, Buller District) March 2017, unpolished. Your thesis reflects who you are, and sparkles as it is turned to be viewed from different positions. Different things will be seen in it depending on who views it from which position.

Joyce Bay on left – from a postcard
Source: Google Maps
Northern end of beach at Joyce Bay, where Stone 2 was found
Joyce Bay rock, full of quartz and mica
Joyce Bay, near Charleston, West Coast

Stone #3 “Effort”

Stone 3 “Effort”
Stone 3 “Effort”
Detail of Stone 3 “Effort”

Mudstone, collected at Riverton July 2017, polishing completed September 2017. This stone started millions of years ago as a number of sediment layers, being compressed by weight and heat. Your thesis consists of layers of effort and activity, building on each other, one layer being the foundation for the other. Over time, effort becomes more focused, refined, productive, until completion is reached.

003g
Henderson Bay, Riverton

Stone #4 “Complexity”

Stone 4 “Complexity”
Detail of Stone 4 “Complexity”
Detail of Stone 4 “Complexity”
Stone 4 “Complexity”

Jasper, with silica, collected at Riverton February 2018, polishing completed August 2018. Reality is complex and resists analysis. Analysis is hard labour.

Stone #5 “Depth”

Stone 5 “Depth”
Detail of Stone 5 “Depth”
Detail of Stone 5 “Depth”
Stone 5 “Depth”

Pale green Quartzite, collected at Orepuki (Southland), April 2016, polishing completed November 2017. Depth of understanding and insight is gained by multi-method qualitative research.

The beach near Orepuki
The beach near Orepuki

Stone #6 “Found Worthy”

Stone 6 “Found Worthy”
Stone 6 “Found Worthy”
Stone 6 “Found Worthy”
Stone 6 “Found Worthy”
Stone 6 “Found Worthy”
Detail of Stone 6 “Found Worthy”

Banded Agate, collected on Birdlings Flat (Canterbury) June 2016, polishing completed September 2016. Agate is formed from quartz crystals growing in layers so small they can barely be seen. The layers build up to fill cavities in sediments left by gas bubbles in volcanic rocks. This particular banded agate is very unusual (the only one of its kind I have found) – when held up to the light, it is apparent that the bands are not smooth but have intricate and delicate lace-like waves in them. This stone will have originated in the Alps, been washed down a Canterbury river, and swept along the coast to be deposited on Birdlings Flat which abuts Banks Peninsula. Your thesis has survived close examination in the light of others’ assessments, and has been found to be worthy of scholarly esteem.

Source: Google Earth, from http://www.star.kiwi/2019/03/rocket-launch-ends-in-blaze
Birdlings Flat beach, the western part of Kaitorete Spit abutting Banks Peninsula
Kaitorete Spit, a 25 kms long gravel bank, looking towards Banks Peninsula, separating Lake Ellesmere from the Pacific Ocean
From the car park at Birdlings Flat
Birdlings Flat beach and Banks Peninsula

Stone #7 “Patterns”

Stone 7 “Patterns”
Detail of Stone 7 “Patterns”
Detail of Stone 7 “Patterns”
Stone 7 “Patterns”

Unknown type (possibly a type of schist?), collected at Riverton February 2018, polishing completed August 2018. Research identifies patterns and layers and makes sense of them for others.

Beach Past The Back Beach, Riverton
Beach Past The Back Beach, Riverton
Beach Past The Back Beach, Riverton
Beach Past The Back Beach, Riverton
Beach Past The Back Beach, Riverton
Beach Past The Back Beach, Riverton

Stone #8 “It takes time to construct an interesting story”

Stone 8 “It takes time to construct an interesting story”
The largest fossil worm cast in Stone 8 “It takes time to construct an interesting story”
A smaller fossil worm cast in Stone 8 “It takes time to construct an interesting story”
Detail of Stone 8 “It takes time to construct an interesting story”

Argillite, a hardened mudstone, with fossil worm casts, collected at Orepuki February 2018, polishing completed August 2018. This argillite started as mud under the sea 250-280 million years ago. The interesting linear features were left behind by ancient worms who had ingested lighter coloured mud. All pieces of scholarly writing, including your thesis, are like fossils of your thoughts at a particular period of time, persisting in existence even as you go on to other thoughts and activities.

Gemstone Beach, Orepuki
Gemstone Beach, Orepuki

Stone #9 “Well Travelled and Wide Ranging”

Stone 9 “Well Travelled and Wide Ranging”
Detail of Stone 9 “Well Travelled and Wide Ranging”
Detail of Stone 9 “Well Travelled and Wide Ranging”
Stone 9 “Well Travelled and Wide Ranging”

Quartzite, stained with iron, collected at Budleigh Salterton (Devon, England) May 2018, polishing completed August 2018. These Devon stones are identical to rocks found in Brittany in France. Some 200-250 million years ago, Brittany was mountainous and rivers drained from it northwards across the Triassic desert, across what was to become the English Channel. The quartzite rocks were tumbled into pebbles and eventually deposited as pebble beds outcropping on cliffs at the beach of Budleigh Salterton village. Good PhD research takes time, has gone places, and has a broad base of experience and reflective thought.

Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England
Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England
Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England
Budleigh Salterton pebbles
Budleigh Salterton pebbles

TumbleStone Calendar 2019 – February, March, April and May

TumbleStone Calendar 2019: February
TumbleStone Calendar 2019: March

The February page (above, left) shows Birdlings Flat with Banks Peninsula in the background, along with a number of quartzite stones collected there. For March (above, right), the location is Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, on the shore of Menais Strait. Next to the pier, I found three unusual stones, two of them with fossils in them. Petra and I also visited nearby Beaumaris Castle at that time.

The April page (below, left) features colourful and patterned stones from the Back Beach at Riverton, with the May page (below, right) showcasing banded agates collected at Birdlings Flat.

TumbleStone Calendar 2019: April
TumbleStone Calendar 2019: May

Also see TumbleStone Calendar 2019, TumbleStone Calendar 2019 – June, July, August and September and TumbleStone Calendar 2019 – October, November and December.

 

Twelve Stones, Part Four

Part One of this Series, about 12 stones, can be found here. The four Posts in the Series each describe the characteristics and origins of three different stones. This Post describes Stones #10 (from Riverton), #11 (from Birdlings Flat) and #12 (from Hokitika).

1-6 stones 2227-12 stones 222

10) Stone #10 Whitish Quartzite stone with Clear Silica Inclusions, found at Riverton.

I have explained the origins and characteristics of Quartzite in relation to Stone #7 and have provided photos of Quartzites from Birdlings Flat in relation to Stone #8, both in Post Three. Quartzite stones can be found in a number of locations in the South Island. They can have a wide range of colours. One of their frequent characteristics is the clear inclusions of silica running through the stone. Quartzites polish outstandingly, due to their hardness and colours.

For the location of Riverton, see the end of the section on Stone #2 in Part One.

11) Stone #11 Banded Agate, found at Birdlings Flat.

Malcolm Luxton is a collector of Agates. He lives in Ashburton, close to New Zealand’s greatest agate-bearing locality of mid-Canterbury. In his excellent book, “Agates of New Zealand” (2015), he provides hundreds of photos of cross-sections of Agate rocks and stones he has collected from throughout New Zealand.

Cover of Malcolm Luxton (2015) “Agates of New Zealand”, Agate Orphanage Press, Ashburton.
Moss agate, Woolshed Creek, Canterbury – Page 33 of Luxton’s (2015) “Agates of New Zealand”
Banded agate, Stew Point Station, Canterbury – Page 91 of Luxton’s (2015) “Agates of New Zealand”
Banded agate, Rakaia Gorge, Canterbury – Page 230 of Luxton’s (2015) “Agates of New Zealand”
Agate in dark rhyolite, Woolshed Creek, Canterbury – Page 192 of Luxton’s (2015) “Agates of New Zealand”
Coloured Canterbury beach agate – Page 254 of Luxton’s (2015) “Agates of New Zealand”

Luxton offers this explanation for the origin of Agate:

An agate…is a stone that formed as a secondary filling in the various shaped cavities generated or forged within…lava flows. Initially these cavities were created by trapped gases or liquids or by geological processes that produced cracks or ruptures. The secondary filling permeated the lava as a silica-rich solution, and…solidified inside these cavities, thus replicating the shape of its magmatic womb. If additional materials were present, either in the silica-rich solution or growing in the cavity prior to its introduction or introduced as by-products from the surrounding lava, those minerals may have been responsible for structures, assemblages and colours (page 16).

Luxton notes that much Agate material is discharged by Canterbury rivers into the sea and some of it is cast back onto more than 100 kms of Canterbury beaches. The movement of Agates by northerly coastal currents “accounts for the notoriety of Birdlings Flat as an agate-collecting destination” (Luxton, 2015, page 250). He then refers to Vince Burke’s collection in the Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum.

Wall display of rocks and their origins, including Agates,Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum
Agate shelf display, Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum
Coloured Agate cross-sections, Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum
Large Agate rock, Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum
Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum
Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum
Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum

Upon my visits to Birdlings Flat, I have collected a few Agates, mainly quite small ones, though my wife Petra is much better at spotting them than I am! Some of the Agates I have found are just plain cloudy silica, some are banded to some extent, some have a little colouring.

Some of the Agates I have collected at Birdlings Flat
Most of the Agates collected are small, with only the occasional larger one
A “blue” Agate stone
A nice moss Agate stone from Birdlings Flat
The only Agate with bright colour that I have found
Some Agates have a whitish tinge on the outside
Banded Agate
Nice little banded Agate from Birdlings Flat

For the location of Birdlings Flat, see the end of the section on Stone #8 in Part Three.

12) Stone #12 White Quartz, found at Hokitika.

Quartz is originally a clear crystal. When subject to heat and pressure, and when water is introduced into it, it becomes white in colour, the colour of the common white “Quartz” stone found plentifully on beaches in New Zealand. However, strictly speaking, this is “Quartzite” rather than “Quartz”, though the latter term is the most common for this white stone. For that reason, and in order to distinguish it from Stones #8 and #10, I will call it “Quartz”.

Southland Museum display on Quartz. Top centre is a clear piece of Quartz
The clear Quartz in the Museum display

When walking beaches, it is the bright white Quartz stones that seem to claim the first attention of the collector’s eye. I have collected and polished many white Quartz stones from the beaches of Southland, Canterbury and the West Coast. And it is the West Coast where perhaps the best examples can be found, perhaps due to the closeness to the Quartz source, in the Southern Alps. 

Dinner plate full of polished white Quartz stones
Part of a batch of Hokitika stones in the process of being polished
Held up to the light, some white Quartz stones are semi-translucent

Stone #12 was found on the beach just on the south side of the Hokitika River, less than five kms from Hokitika town. I visited there on a dull, cold, rainy day in June 2016. The beach was quite sandy but receding waves revealed drifts of stones. There were signs of coastal erosion, with flax plants being undermined and uprooted, and the end of the gravel road had been washed away.  

Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island
Signs of coastal erosion near Hokitika. June 2016.
Driftwood on the beach.
Stones being revealed by the receding waves.
Drifts of stones on the beach near Hokitika.
Mouth of the Hokitika River, looking north at Hokitika on the far shore.
A large white Quartz stone found at Rapahoe Beach, just north of Greymouth, on the same trip. I had to leave this there as I was travelling home by plane and taking other stones with me.
What Hokitika is most famous for – its greenstone carvers.

Location of Hokitika (click on image below, left), and location of beach near Hokitika where Stone #12 was collected (below, right) (source: Google Maps):

This brings us to the end of this series of Posts.

Twelve Stones, Part Three

This Post describes Stones #7 to #9 of the 12 (Part One dealt with Stones #1 to #3 and Part Two with Stones #4 to #6):

7-12 stones 222

7) Stone #7 Red-Stained Quartzite, found near Budleigh Salterton, England.

On two recent visits to England, in 2017 and 2018, I went to a coastal village of about 5,000 inhabitants called Budleigh Salterton in Devon, not far from Exeter. The Doomsday Book records that salt panning was of great importance here, and it may have been as far back as Roman or even Iron Age times, hence the origin of the name “Salterton”. The beach, three miles (nearly five kilometres) in length, has a distinctive mix of stones, many deriving from the Budleigh Salterton Pebble Bed which outcrops in the cliffs there. 

Looking south-west towards the village of Budleigh Salterton
Looking north-east along the beach at Budleigh Salterton
Budleigh Salterton beach huts
Beach huts and red cliffs at Budleigh Salterton

The layers of pebbles found in the cliffs at Budleigh Salterton originated over 400 million years ago when sandstones formed under desert conditions in the place in France we now call Brittany. During the Triassic period, these rocks were eroded and transported by vast rivers  across what later became the English Channel to form the Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds. The pebbles then fell onto the beach and have been transported eastwards by the sea, well beyond Budleigh Salterton. 

The  East Devon and Dorset Coast, known as the Jurassic Coast, has become a World Heritage Site due to the geology of the area. In 95 miles (150 kms), 185 million years of earth history are on display in the coastal cliffs. Older Triassic rocks (between 251 million and 200 million years old) give way to Jurassic rocks (200 million to 145 million years old) and younger Cretaceous rocks (145 million to 66 million years old). 

Part of an Information Panel in Budleigh Salterton
Information Panel section on the pebble beds
Red pebble cliffs
Dry stones on Budleigh Salterton beach
When the stones are wet, their colours become apparent. In the middle is a stone with dark red speckles, just like Stone #7
Stone #7 is at bottom centre, just off the beach

The British geologist Ian West has a very interesting web page on Budleigh Salterton and the surrounding area (even though it can be difficult to read in places). There he states that the dominant pebbles in the Budleigh Salterton Pebble Bed are quartzite (if you go to this link, click again on it to enlarge the writing at the bottom of the photo). Quartzite is  a very hard durable metamorphic rock composed almost entirely of quartz. It forms when a quartz-rich sandstone is altered by the heat, pressure, and chemical activity of metamorphism. These conditions recrystallize the sand grains and the silica cement that binds them together. The result is a network of interlocking quartz grains of incredible strength. Impurities in Quartzite can cause it to be yellow, orange, brown, green, or blue. The presence of iron results in pink, purple or (as with Stone #7) red. 

Location of Budleigh Salterton in south-west England (source: Google Maps):

Budleigh Salterton location

8) Stone #8 White-Grey Quartzite.

I collected this stone at Birdlings Flat, Canterbury, a beach that I try to visit at least a couple of times each year because of the Quartzites, Jaspers and Agates (see Stone #11) to be found there. Birdlings Flat is the beach immediately south of Banks Peninsula, part of Kaitorete Spit, an enormous barrier gravel bank  which lies between Lake Ellesmere and the sea. Stones washed down from the Alps by Canterbury rivers are swept northwards along the coast and deposited here.

Where Birdlings Flat beach meets with Banks Peninsula
Looking southwest along Birdlings Flat beach
The waves are powerful and unpredictable, especially at the Banks Peninsula end
The Birdlings Flat beach is part of the 25 km long Kaitorete Spit which consists entirely of stones
Looking for stones about eight kilometres along Kaitorete Spit

As mentioned in relation to Stone #7, Quartzite is a very hard durable  metamorphic rock composed almost entirely of quartz. Many different coloured Quartzite stones can be found at Birdlings Flat, as attested by the collection to be found at the Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum, which I have visited a number of times.

Part of the Quartzite Collection at the Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum. At top right is a large white-grey stone, with a fault through it. Photos with permission
Some white-grey Quartzite stones similar to Stone #8 can be seen on the lower row
Another part of the Quartzite Collection at the Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum
More Quartzite stones, Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum
Stones in Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum, including Quartzites

Stone #8 is one of a number of white-grey Quartzites I have found at Birdlings Flat. The large bands of white and grey provide a striking contrast, making this stone particularly attractive.

Stones collected at Birdlings Flat, including some white-grey Quartzites
Two Quartzites from Birdlings Flat
Two good-sized tumble-polished Quartzites from Birdlings Flat
A darker white-grey Quartzite
Quartzite with more white than grey
A white-grey Quartzite found and polished by Petra

There are a number of previous TumbleStone Posts about Birdlings Flat. These include: Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum;  Seven Types of Stones Collected at Birdlings Flat; Selection of Online Sources about Birdlings Flat; and Information on Birdlings Flat from Books.

Location of Birdlings Flat (source: Google Maps):

Birdlings Flat location

9) Stone #9 Unknown stone, found at Riverton.

I picked up this interesting little stone at Henderson Bay, Riverton Rocks. I initially wondered if it might be a piece of petrified wood, given its pattern and texture. Some agatised wood (see photos below) that I have seen has some similar patterns. Petrified wood forms when wood is buried by sediment and protected from decay by oxygen and organisms. Groundwater rich in dissolved solids flows through the sediment, replacing the original wood material with, for example, silica, calcite, or pyrite. Agatised wood has been petrified by agate, a form of chalcedony or microcrystalline quartz. However, the agatised wood I have seen tends to be quite glassy when polished, something absent from this stone. 

Agatised wood specimens at the Birdlings Flat Gemstone and Fossil Museum
Agatised wood, from a YouTube clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxc1j6QNPvI

In March 2017 I bought a piece of petrified wood from Hettie’s Rock and Crystal Shop in Akaroa on Banks Peninsula.

Petrified wood bought at Hettie’s, Akaroa, March 2017
Hettie’s Rock and Crystal Shop, Akaroa
Another side of the same piece of petrified wood

I have also seen petrified wood at Curio Bay, about 130 kms east of Riverton. 

Curio Bay, Catlins Coast, Southland
Information Plaque about Curio Bay
The steps down to Curio Bay
Looking down on Curio Bay from the top of the steps
Trunk of a petrified tree at Curio bay
Petrified wood in the rocks at Curio Bay
Petrified wood in the rocks at Curio Bay. My foot for scale
Petrified wood in the rocks at Curio Bay

On the basis of what I have seen, I am unsure whether Stone #9 is agatised wood or some other form of petrified wood, or something entirely different. I have more unidentified stones than identified ones in my collection. [Later I came to the view that this stone is much more likely to be a mix of quartz and a black mineral, not any type of petrified wood.]

I found Stone #9 at Henderson Bay, the last of the Bays that make up Riverton Rocks, the part of Riverton that is made up of holiday homes. My grandparents owned a “crib” (“bach” to North Islanders of New Zealand) at Henderson Bay, up on the hill overlooking the sea, and when I was a boy my family spent two weeks every summer on holiday there. 

Henderson Bay, Riverton Rocks, September 2018 – the road continues on to the Back Beach
Henderson Bay, February 2016
Henderson Bay, looking back at the steps
Argillite rocks at Henderson Bay, stones above the high tide mark on the beach
Drift of stones, Henderson Bay
Henderson Bay stones
Henderson Bay stones

Location of Henderson Bay and Back Beach, Riverton (source: Google Maps):

location Riverton bays333

Part Four is the final Post in this series, dealing with Stones #10, #11 and #12.

South Island Stone Collecting Trip, Part Two – Riverton to Kaikoura

Continued from Part One.

Next stop was Riverton at the very bottom of the South Island, where we were based for the next three weeks – many thanks to Helen and Ray for the generous use of their holiday home. We collected many beach stones from the Riverton area and from nearby Gemstone Beach at Orepuki. The weather was cool and windy at times but not bad enough to discourage stone collecting. We met a handful of fellow stone collectors at Gemstone Beach and exchanged greetings and stories. We also spotted dolphins swimming off the beaches at Riverton.  

Riverton’s Back Beach, a great source of stones to polish
Fossicking for stones, Back Beach, Riverton
Crashing waves, Back Beach, Riverton
Hector’s dolphins, Riverton
Hector’s dolphins, Riverton
Along the coast from the Back Beach, Colac Bay hill in the background
A stormy day, Riverton coast
Gemstone Beach, near Orepuki
There were many stones exposed on Gemstone Beach

While based at Riverton, we took a day trip eastwards to Waipapa Point, Slope Point and Curio Bay, the latter being well known for its petrified forest that is uncovered at each low tide.

Waipapa Point lighthouse
Sea lion emerging from the surf at Waipapa Point
Waipapa Point
Slope Point is the southernmost part of the South Island
Rough seas at Slope Point
The stairs down to Curio Bay
Petrified fallen three at Curio Point becomes apparent as the tide recedes
Petrified tree stumps at Curio Bay
Petrified wood in the rocks at Curio Bay
Petrified tree stump, Curio Bay

One day we walked the Long Hilly Track through an old gold mining area near Orepuki. This included part of the 40 kilometre long Port’s water race, built in the 1870s and 1880s with the help of Chinese miners. We visited the Riverton Museum and found an excellent display on the Chinese goldminers. On a visit to the Southland Museum in Invercargill, we saw a natural history room that included a lot of local geological displays and information.

Round Hilly Track information panel.
Most of the track is through bush like this. It was a cold wet day.
About Port’s water race – 40 kms long
Port’s water race runs alongside the track for hundreds of metres
Ray starting at the bottom of part of Port’s water race
At times Port’s water race runs through short tunnels
Dams were constructed to feed water races for the gold mining.
An area behind one of the dams.
Information panel on the Chinese gold miners
A substantial Chinese settlement is now only bush
The southern-most Chinese settlement in the world

On the trip north, on the way home, we stopped off to see the Moeraki Boulders in North Otago. Some sea mist came down even though it was the middle of the day. The boulders are large spherical rocks, concretions that have been exposed through shoreline erosion from coastal cliffs. They consist of mud, fine silt and clay, cemented by calcite. The degree of cementation varies from being relatively weak in the interior of a boulder to quite hard at its outside rim. The boulders are cracked and eventually fall apart after having been exposed for some time. 

Tourists in the midday sea mist at the Moeraki Boulders
The Moeraki Boulders are a popular tourist attraction
Moeraki boulders on a misty midday
Moeraki boulders
The boulders originate in thecliffs behind the beach
The boulders eventually collapse

A day was spent at Birdlings Flat, near Christchurch, where we collected quite a few stones for polishing. We walked to the point where the stony beach meets the volcanic mass of Banks Peninsula, briefly disturbing a resting seal. The tide was low enough for us to look at the stones in the small bay past the seal. 

Birdlings Flat stones, among the best to polish
The seal that I stumbled upon
Going as far as possible at the Banks Peninsula end of Birdlings Flat

We also took the opportunity to visit Akaroa on Banks Peninsula where we saw thick clouds rolling slowly down over the hills.

Clouding rolling down the hills at Akaroa
Akaroa clouds

The road further up the east coast of the South Island, through Kaikoura, was open – it had to be rebuilt after the November 2016 magnitude 7.8 earthquake as well as additional landslides caused by recent storms. So we were able to view the earthquake aftermath, including the land that been raised out of the sea. Some parts of the coast were uplifted by six metres. One of the places we visited on the Kaikoura peninsula was Point Kean, well-known for its seal colony. A large area of many hectares/acres now lies dry where it once was under the sea. 

Large uplifted area, formerly under the sea, at Point Kean, Kaikoura
Point Kean, Kaikoura, land uplifted out of the sea by 2016 earthquake
Pont Kean, Kaikoura, looking back to the parking area
Seals are very relaxed about the people walking around at Point Kean, Kaikoura
Lounging seal, Point Kean, Kaikoura
Rain water pool on rocks previously under the sea
The sea looks a long way away
Off Point Kean, Kaikoura
Some interesting folded rocks have been exposed by the earthquake
Newly exposed folded rocks, Point Kean, Kaikoura

Then it was home across Cook Strait, a choppy but not uncomfortable crossing.

Leaving the South Island on a Cook Strait ferry
Passing another ferry in the middle of Cook Strait

 

The Rough and the Smooth: Excerpt from My Retirement Function Speech, 5 December 2016

[After 30 years as a lecturer at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand]

I recall standing at the front of a lecture theatre maybe 20 years ago, about to introduce Dr Russell Bishop from Education as a guest lecturer to my second-year class in social research methods. I had asked him to talk about Maori social research approaches. I had not met Russell face-to-face before and, chatting before the start of his lecture, we realised that we had both grown up in rural Southland, a world away from where we were standing. He said, “Imagine that – two country boys like us, ending up here, teaching at the University of Waikato.” And I’ve always had that sense of wonder, and even privilege, in being a University lecturer.

Earlier this year, in anticipation of retirement, I started up two new ventures. One was to take up the hobby of beach stone polishing. This involves spending time on beaches, looking for interesting stones, a not unpleasant pastime. Here are two stones that I found at Birdlings Flat, near Christchurch – they look rather rough and dull and plain. You put a bunch of these of varying sizes in a small rubber barrel, add water and grit and later polish powder, then roll them around for a few weeks. The outcome is like this – the dull surface is worn away, the stones become nicely rounded and smooth, and bright colours and patterns shine out. I’m sure there’s a metaphor there for the university, or for what we do with students…

Two Birdlings Flat quartzite stones “in the rough”
Two Birdlings Flat quartzite stones polished

When I started tumble polishing, it was difficult to find useful and practical information on the internet about it, so I started a blog called TumbleStone where I write about the process. I also write about the beaches where stones are found. 

It turns out that tumble polishing stones is not a bad retirement hobby for an academic who is still a geographer at heart. For example, six months ago my wife Petra was in the south of England, in Devon, and brought back some stones from a beach called Slapton Sands. Doing some research about Slapton Sands, I have discovered all sorts of interesting things about that beach – it’s a barrier pebble beach protecting the largest freshwater lake in south-western England; it’s a beach under threat each year from winter storms; and in early 1944, 30,000 acres around Slapton Sands was evacuated all of its 3,000 residents for 6 months so that the American army could undertake exercises prior to the Normandy landings. One Exercise, Exercise Tiger, led to the loss of about 750 soldiers and sailors, due to a German torpedo-boat raid and inadequacies in escorts and communication, and this tragedy was kept secret for many decades. In the 1970s a local guest house owner, who was in the habit of walking the beach looking for interesting things on it, heard about an object a mile offshore that snagged fishing nets, discovered it was a sunken US Sherman tank, eventually pieced together the story of Exercise Tiger, salvaged the tank, placed it as a memorial on Slapton Sands, and wrote a book called “The Forgotten Dead”… Lots of material for a geographer to research and write about…

[See here for the first Post in the Series on Slapton Sands.]