A Blog About Stone Gathering, Tumbling and Polishing, and Rocks and Landscapes, from New Zealand – With Musical Interludes (john.tumblestone@gmail.com)
I spent a few days based in Riverton early in May, on a stone collection trip. Two of my aims were to spend more time on Gemstone Beach and to explore the beach further to the west, near a place called McCracken’s Rest. I took an extra suitcase down with me so that I could carry more stones home with me than I usually do on the plane. I ended up bringing back 26.5 kgs of carefully selected beach pebbles.
Day One at Riverton saw me drive out to McCracken’s Rest, 36 kilometres from Riverton. This is a roadside lay-by and viewpoint eight kilometres west of Orepuki and Gemstone Beach.
McCracken’s Rest on the coast of Te Waewae Bay, northwest of Orepuki. The Waiau River mouth is further northwest, where the Te Waewae Lagoon is created by a stone bar. Source: Google Maps
Just northwest of McCracken’s Rest is the start of Te Waewae Lagoon.Source: Google Maps
McCracken’s Rest in relation to Riverton, 36 kms away. Source: Google Maps
On YouTube is this clip which gives a good sense of the roadside lay-by (although at 1:24 Stewart Island is misidentified – it is in fact well hidden in the mist – the piece of land referred to as Stewart Island is really the headland between Monkey Island and Cosy Nook, the headland just south of Orepuki – see the third last photo, bottom left, in the group below).
The information panel and viewpoint at McCracken’s Rest, looking out on Te Waewae Bay
The viewpoint lies between Orepuki and Tuatapere
On one side of the information panel is a map of the area
The photographer and the photograph
The Waiau River is the source of many of the stones on the beaches here
Te Waewae Bay
McCracken’s Rest and Gemstone Beach in relation to Monkey Island and Cosy Nook
The other side of the information panel features a historical time spiral for Tuatapere
The spiral of history
The beach between Orepuki and McCracken’s lies below cliffs all the way along so access is very difficult. At the viewpoint at McCracken’s Rest, I hopped over the fence and carefully made my way down the steep slope to the beach below.
The viewpoint at McCracken’s Rest – the best entry point to the beach, though unofficial
On the way down to the beach, layers of stones are exposed, their roundness suggesting they were probably laid down by the Waiau River or some other river long ago
Detail of exposed stones
The scene at the bottom of the slope, beneath McCracken’s Rest viewpoint, looking north-west
The beach at McCracken’s Rest is similar to the beach further south-east, back towards Gemstone Bach and the Waimeamea Lagoon. There is a low bank of stones above the high tide mark, along with a wide scattering of drift wood. Closer to the waves, there are sandy patches and drifts of smaller stones.
Looking north-west, towards Fiordland
Looking south-east, towards Gemstone Beach which is about 6 to 7 kilometres away
Sand and stones on the beach near McCracken’s Rest
There is no scarcity of stones
There are slightly more larger stones here than further south-east on the beach, back near Gemstone Beach
Stones on the beach near McCracken’s Rest
Looking back up to the McCracken’s Rest viewpoint
I spent two and a half hours there – the day was largely fine and with little wind, which allowed the sandflies to be active. I slowly walked (and fossicked) just over a kilometre north-westwards to the start of the Te Waewae Lagoon (created by the Waiau River trying to find a path to the sea). The actual mouth of the Waiau River can vary in position along this gravel bar, depending on the countervailing forces of the river’s flow and the stones thrown up by the sea.
This is as far as I walked, the start of the Te Waewae Lagoon. The actual mouth of the Waiau River is another 6 or 7 kilometres to the north-west.
Looking along the gravel bar that has created the Te Waewae Lagoon
Gravel cliff just at the soulth-eastern end of Te Waewae Lagoon
Detail of the gravel cliff. Very likely to one of the intermediate sources of stones for this beach and further south-east
There seemed to be more slightly larger and less rounded stones here than at Gemstone Beach, and I did not see as many colourful ones. I also found no hydrogrossular garnets although there were fossil worm cast stones.
Well-defined fossil worm casts in a large stone, left on the beach
A large dark red jasper
Probably a stone of volcanic origin
Gogeous black, grey and white stone, with fault lines, just a little too big to tumble polish
Large colourful stone
Maybe a kind of argillite
Another large stone with fossil worm casts, though they do not show the segmentation pattern as the previous one
Probably a stone of volcanic origin
I collected quite a few stones on the beach but later discarded many of them after careful re-examination. This was partly because I found much better stones later at Gemstone Beach and on the Riverton beaches. I still ended up bringing home 2.3 kilograms of stones from the beach between McCracken’s Rest and Te Waewae Lagoon.
Sorting through the stones picked up at the beach below McCracken’s Rest
A quartz, at first glance very similar to an agate
Breccia stone
Probably a quartzite stone
The fossil worm casts in this stone are raised, being made of harder material than the rest of the stone
Before returning to Riverton, I drove up to Fishing Camp Road, about two and a half kilometres north-west of McCracken’s Rest, and drove along it to the shores of the Te Waewae Lagoon. This brought me to the landward side of the lagoon, near a handful of fisher huts and a boat ramp. The stones there were dirty and slimy and uninteresting – but one could gaze across the lagoon at the gravel bar separating the lagoon from the sea and see the kind of interesting ones to be found between there and Gemstone Beach.
Just up the road from McCracken’s Rest, towards Tautapere
The beach from McCracken’s Rest to the Waiau River – Fishing Camp Road turns off the Orepuki-Tuatapere Highway (99) halfway between. Source: Google Maps.
Fishing Camp Road leads to fisher huts on the landward side of the Te Waewae Lagoon. Source: Google Maps.
Te Waewae Lagoon, fisher hut to right, boat ramp to left. Waiau River mouth out of sight in the distance
The stones on this side of the lagoon are muddy and slimy.
Looking back along the shores of the lagoon towards McCracken’s Rest (out of sight). I had earlier walked to the spot where the cliffs come down at the head of the lagoon.
Looking across the lagoon to the gravel bank, beyond which is Te Waewae Bay
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.
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.
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.
Gemstone Beach, near Orepuki on the south coast, “is in a constant state of change with the surface changing from sand to stones with the storms and tides” (Southland website). This year, I spent three weeks in March in Southland, collecting beach stones, and I made five visits to Gemstone Beach. This year the beach offered lots and lots of good stones, maybe the most I have seen. As a result, I collected probably about 18 kilograms of stones from there to take home to polish. These included over 100 stones with fossil worm casts.
Gemstone Beach is just a kilometre from Orepuki, a small village on a sparsely settled part of the southern coast of New Zealand. Gold was mined in the district during the last two decades of the nineteenth century, and in the 1880s the southernmost Chinese settlement in the world was to be found there. It is said that semi-precious gems such as garnet, sapphire, jasper, quartz and semi-nephrite can be found on Gemstone Beach, although some of these are very rare. Quartz and jasper are reasonably common, and you can sometimes find hydrogrossular garnet stones and argillite stones containing fossil worm casts.
Location of Orepuki and Gemstone Beach on the Southland coast
TAUNOA STREAM
When you initially walk down from the car park and emerge onto Gemstone Beach (see map below), it can be a real disappointment if you’re expecting to see a lot of great stones. The immediate area is usually primarily sand, with only a handful of widely-spaced stones around. [NOTE: In the three years since I wrote this, there have been many times when there has been lots of stones on this part of the beach. They come and go from time to time.] Just to the left is a small (un-named) stream which many people go to in order to see if there are interesting stones there but it also sometimes disappoints.
Entrance area of Gemstone Beach – from Mapcarta
This photo (below), taken by me in February 2018, shows a family on the beach just a few metres away from the car park. Notice the wide scattering of stones – usually there are less than 10 per cent of this number in this area. The two people in the background are looking towards the un-named stream.
When you come onto the beach from the car park, about 200 metres to your right (in a north-west direction) is a stream that flows across the beach to the sea, Taunoa Stream (see map above). At times the depth of the stream water can be high enough to dissuade anyone wearing shoes from crossing, unless they take their shoes off. However, it is further along the beach beyond this stream that the stones will be found. At high tide, it can be impossible to ford the Taunoa Stream because of the waves rushing in to the foot of the nearby cliff. This year, the stream bed was full of stones, the water having swept the covering of sand from them. A significant part of my second visit to Gemstone Beach this month (March) was spent examining the stones in the stream.
Having crossed Taunoa Stream, looking upstream.
I always wear gumboots to make crossing the stream easier. Many interesting stones could be seen on the stream bed.
Standing in the Taunoa Stream at mid-tide, looking out to sea. At centre left are Martin and Maike, about whom more later.
NORTH-WEST OF TAUNOA STREAM
At times, one has to walk a long way (maybe 200 or 300 metres) past the Taunoa Stream to find stones (see photo below, left). This year, after only about 100 metres past the stream, large drifts of stones covered the beach (below, right).
April 2016 – a sandy beach.
March 2019 – a stony beach.
And the stones were scattered right up to the cliff face, unlike at other times when I have visited.
April 2016 – Few stones in the area near the cliff.
March 2019 – Many stones in the area near the cliff.
Each drift of stones on the beach consisted of a good layer of pebbles, some on the small side but many of a good polish-able size.
Gemstone Beach, looking back towards Taunoa Stream (at the small break in cliffs)
The edge of a drift – toe of gumboot at bottom centre.
.A drift of stones.
On the edge of a drift – dark red jasper pebble in centre.
THE WAIMEAMEA RIVER MOUTH
About one kilometre along the beach from the Taunoa Stream is the mouth of the small Waimeamea River.
Gemstone Beach from the car park to the mouth of the Waimeamea River. Source: Google Maps.
The Waimeamea River builds up a lagoon behind the large bank of stones thrown up by the sea. Source: Mapcarta.
Currently – and this was also the case when I was there in September 2018 – there is a large bank of stones along the beach, starting about 400 metres before the Waimeamea River mouth and continuing as far along the beach as I could see (some kilometres). The bank is quite high, maybe four or five metres in places, and up to 50 metres wide. Some of the stones here are bigger than those closer to Taunoa Stream, too big for my tumble polish barrels. But the bulk of them are much smaller, just right for the tumbler.
The high bank of stones that appears as one moves along the beach towards the Waimeamea River.
The top of the bank.
Stones on top of the bank, the large one in the centre being a brechia (a conglomerate with non-rounded stones in it).
Stones on top of the bank, the large one in the centre has fossil worm casts in it.
The stone bank holds back the waters of the river, preventing them from reaching the sea, creating a lagoon running parallel to the coast. However, water seeps under the stones to meet the incoming waves, the stones start to collapse, and eventually a channel appears for the river to flow out, as I had observed in September 2018.
March 2018 – The bank of stones is intact, holding back the Waimeamea River.
September 2018 – Waimeamea River has temporarily broken through the stone bank.
THREE ENCOUNTERS
Birds are perhaps the most common wildlife encountered on southern beaches. At the mouth of the Waimeamea River, I walked past some seagulls and terns, trying hard not to disturb them:
Further back down the beach, near the Taunoa Stream, in my second encounter, I met up with Maike and Martin, a young couple from Germany on holiday in the South Island. They were picking up interesting stones and asked me how they could get them polished. I volunteered to do a batch for them. I also gave them a short break from living out of their car, inviting them back to the crib at Riverton. Below are some of the stones I am in the process of polishing for them.
Martin & Maike from Germany.
The stones collected on Gemstone Beach by Martin & Maike.
See this Post to see how these stones looked after polishing.
My third encounter, from a distance, was with some horse riders, glimpsed as I left Gemstone Beach for the last time during this series of visits. They were moving towards the car park from the south-east of the beach, from the direction of Monkey Island. There were four riders on horses, one horse carrying a child being led, and a wagon drawn by two horses.
Horse riders and horse-drawn wagon on Gemstone beach.
Coser-up photo of horse riders and horse-drawn wagon on Gemstone beach.
In October (above, left), the lone figure of my friend Ray walks ahead on Gemstone Beach as I take about five steps every five minutes. I am searching for the elusive hydrogrossulars, so shiny that tumble polishing usually does not improve them. November (above, middle) also features rocks that shine but this time it’s the large mica flakes in them that sparkle. Found at Joyce Bay on the West Coast of the South Island, one such rock sits in my lounge room, beside the fire. Finally, in December (above, right), we return again to Riverton, my favourite set of beaches where I have found some of my favourite stones.
The June page for this calendar (above, left) has a photo of Kiritehere Beach, on the west coast of the North Island, which Petra and I visited in September 2018, and some of the rocks with monotis fossils that we found there. The rocks on this beach are full of these fossils. I have not tried to tumble polish them. Budleigh Salterton features on the July page (above, right). This village in Devon has a pebble beach full of red iron-stained quartzite stones from the cliffs nearby. We have visited there when we have been in Devon in the past three years. For more detail on Budleigh Salterton and its stones, see the comments on Stone #7 in the post on Twelve Stones, Part Three.
For August, one of my favourite stones appears, banded rhyolite. Stones of this type can be found on beaches along part of the south coast of the South Island, especially around Riverton and Orepuki. The beach featured on the August page is the beach past the Back Beach at Riverton (just beyond the end of the road). September’s beach is another one in the UK that Petra and I visited in 2018, Penmon Point on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. There I found a black stone with interesting patterned fossils in it (I have not been able to identify the fossils), and a number of limestone pebbles also with fossil shells that are much fainter.
Every year I produce a calendar as a Christmas gift for family and friends. I use the online site DiamondPhoto to produce these. For 2019, I compiled a calendar of polished stones and locations. The following is the Cover (Gemstone Beach, Orepuki) and the January page (Henderson Bay, Riverton, with close-ups of some of the stunning stones I have found there):
Gemstone Beach, Orepuki, Southland
January calendar page: Henderson Bay, Riverton, Southland, and close-ups of polished stones found there
I recently presented 12 tumble-polished stones to Tony in appreciation for his support when I undertook work with him in the dairy industry. Part One of this series of Posts described Stones #1 to #3. This Post deals with the characteristics and origins of Stones #4, #5 and #6, and later Posts will examine Stones #7 to #12.
These are the 12 stones:
4) Stone #4 Pink Granite
This stone was found at Riverton in February 2018. Granite is a coarse-grained igneous rock, made up of quartz, feldspar and mica. Its grains are large enough to be seen by the unaided eye. Pink Granite is given its colour by a larger proportion of potassium feldspar. Granite is found exposed at various places on Stewart Island and the western part of the South Island. It can be seen along the coast between Colac Bay and Orepuki in Southland, and stones of Pink Granite can often be found on southern beaches. Click on the photos below to see their captions.
Display of Granite stones, Riverton Museum. Photo with permission of Museum staff..
Page 92 of “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Minerals, Rocks & Fossils of the World” by John Farndon and Steve Parker (2015).
Page 34 of “Rock and Gem: The Definitive Guide to Rocks, Minerals, Gems and Fossils” by R.L. Bonewitz (2008).
5) Stone #5 Finely Banded Rhyolite(?)
This stone was found at Orepuki, Southland, on Gemstone Beach in April 2016. I have collected a number of such stones before on southern beaches and find them fascinating as they conjure up the image of cosmic gas trails in faraway starfields. A fellow stone collector once told me they were Rhyolite but it is difficult to confirm this from the various online and published sources on Rhyolite, maybe due to the distinctive pattern on these particular stones.
Rhyolite is very similar in chemical composition to Granite. But while Granite has crystals that are generally easy to see, in Rhyolite the crystals are often too small to see. This is due to the more rapid cooling of the Rhyolite lava at the earth’s surface compared to granite’s slower cooling magma within the earth.
Examples of other Rhyolite stones found at Orepuki or Riverton:
Rhyolite stone just picked up from the beach
Rhyolite stone after one stage of tumbling
Three polished Rhyolite stones from southern beaches
Top centre is the Rhyolite Stone #5, washed after being found on Gemstone Beach at Orepuki
Orepuki is a small village on a sparsely settled part of the southern coast. Gold was mined in the district during the last two decades of the nineteenth century, and in the 1880s the southernmost Chinese settlement in the world was to be found there. The beach just to the north of Orepuki is called Gemstone Beach – it is said that semi-precious gems such as garnet, sapphire, jasper, quartz and nephrite can be found on the beach, along with hydrogrossular stones and argillite stones containing fossil worm casts. (The garnets, sapphires and nephrite are extremely rare.) Gold can also be found in patches of black sand at low tide.
Gemstone Beach, Orepuki, Information Panel – some of the stones mentioned are very rare and are not usually found
Gemstone Beach, Orepuki, September 2018, looking south
Gemstone Beach, Orepuki, September 2018, looking north
Stone collectors, Gemstone Beach, Orepuki
A wide bank of stones at Gemstone Beach – sometimes there are not many stones on the beach
Stones at Gemstone Beach
Washed stones collected from Gemstone Beach – three Rhyolite ones at left and centre bottom. In the middle is a green argillite stone with a lighter coloured fossil wormcast
Information Panel, Round Hilly Track, main area of gold mining near Orepuki
Information Panel detail on Chinese gold mining town
Location of Orepuki (source: Google Maps):
6) Stone #6 Marble(?)
I found this stone also on a Riverton beach. I don’t know what type of stone this is, but it reminds me of Marble. Marble is formed out of limestone which is subjected to the heat and pressure of metamorphism. It is composed primarily of the mineral calcite and in its pure form is white. However, it can also contain other minerals, such as clay minerals, micas, quartz, pyrite, iron oxides, and graphite, which provide colouring. Veined and patterned Marble, as this stone could be, is often created when a pure white original Marble is cracked or shattered and the spaces between the fragments are filled with other materials.
Page 199 of “Collecting Rocks, Gems and Minerals” by Patti Polk (2016)
From Southland Museum, Invercargill
Maybe another Marble stone collected from Riverton – part of the first batch of stones I polished in March 2016
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
I have recently returned from spending a week based in Riverton, visiting beaches in the area to collect stones for polishing. I brought home a total of 23 kgs of stones (14 kgs of which were posted) from six different beaches. The main collection sites were a handful of Riverton beaches as well as Orepuki, Bluff, and near Cosy Nook.
Orepuki Beach
Looking down on the “Back Beach” at Riverton
The small beach next to Cosy Nook – a stream flows through the seaweed, revealing stones
Stirling Point, Bluff, just under the famous signpost
Glass on the Stirling Point beach at Bluff
The beach stones amidst boulders at Stirling Point, Bluff
