JP was back in Southland and I’ve been out fossicking at Gemstone Beach with him again! Living so close to that “famous” beach you can […]
Stones, Waves & Whispers: 12 Months on Gemstone Beach
Introduction Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here. I’m excited to share this new 12-part series, dedicated to a year-long (month-by-month) journey of fossicking on one […]
Batch 80: The Coastal Collection 2
Batch 80, the neglected Papatotara coastal collection batch, has been patiently waiting in the Papatotara Coast ready for Stage 3 drawer for a wee while […]
Batch 83: Connor’s Stones
Batch 83 are Connor’s stones probably collected from Gemstone Beach. Connor is a friend’s grandson and every now and again friends ask me to tumble […]
Batch 84: Unique Beauty of Gemstone Beach Jaspers
Let’s dive into the unique beauty of Gemstone Beach jaspers, which I always keep an eye out for while fossicking. Types of Jasper Jasper, along […]
Batch 82: Slices and Hydrogrossular Garnets
Slicing Stones Equipment A while back I purchased a wet tile saw from Mitre 10, swapped out the blade for a diamond blade (180mm diameter, […]
Batch 81 : How Breccia Differs from Conglomerate
Breccia (pronounced bre-CHE-a) is a funky type of sedimentary rock that’s actually composed of large angular broken fragments of other rocks that get cemented together by […]
Batch 78: From Gemstone Beach to Tumbler
The majority of stones I tumble are from Gemstone Beach. It is not often that the stones go straight from the beach to the tumbler […]
Batch 77: Sold on Mr Grit 220grit
I’ve been using Mr Grit 220 grit for Stage 2 in quite a few batches now and the quality of it is really good. It […]
Quartz vs Quartzite: What’s the Difference?
What is the difference is between quartz and quartzite? Below are the definitions of both which is helping me to understand is the distinction between […]