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40 COROMANDEL LIFE LATE SPRING / HOLIDAY 2018 40 CORO ANDEL LIFE LATE SPRING / HOLIDAY 2018
Right: Wood grain is
preserved in this specimen
from Mill Creek in Whitianga.
See this impressive variety of petrified wood displayed at the Heaven & Earth Gallery.
Although petrified wood has been collected
from river and stream beds, hillsides, and
gravel beaches in northern and central parts
of the Coromandel, very little has been found
in the southern Waihi-Paeroa area.
FOSSICKING FOR THESE FOSSILS
Coromandel petrified wood is still relatively
plentiful if you know where to look. One of
the main challenges of fossicking is simply
recognising specimens when you find them,
so it’s advised to go along with a seasoned
rockhound or rock club. It is also a good
idea to look online (and in this article) for
pictures before going on the hunt. Remember
to always get permission before looking on
private land.
Although not typically as multicoloured as
those found in other parts of the world,
Coromandel varieties can still be quite
beautiful. For example, some of the ‘opalised’
wood found near Tairua displays edges of
pale beige, with centres of glossy black.
In some cases, the brown petrified wood
from Tairua and Hikuai will contain pockets
of luminous white opal. And the rich
brown shades of petrified wood from the
Whitianga area earned it the nickname
‘pumpkin rock’.
The Tairua River in Hikuai is a good
place to search, as are the rivers and
Left: Francis Kropidlowski holds up
a big chunk of petrified Kauri at the
Heaven & Earth gallery.
streams of the Kauaeranga Valley and Mill
Creek in Whitianga. However almost any
rocky river bed, and even some beaches,
provide the possibility of finding these
prehistoric treasures.
I like to tell the young ones that, when that
tree was alive, its leaves were being eaten
by dinosaurs. That gets their imaginations
working! And it does the same thing for me.
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