Fossil Hunting Adventures in New Zealand: Summer 2016

[Doctor Mud]

Its been a while since I have posted here. Sorry for the absence.

Its been a crazy year. Shifting cities and jobs, with a hectic period of lab work and fieldwork for my new job. I've been living in between two cities, but things should be settling down soon!

 

I did fieldwork for work in the Summer of 2016 in New Zealand. That's another story. 5 days in the mountains sampling alpine lakes. Boy that was hard work.

If that wasn't enough - I must have had a taste for adventure as I had a series of trips to N. Canterbury in search of big old crabs and whatever else nature threw my way.

I'll post some reports when I have time with pictures. I finally managed to do the trip I had been wanting to do for a while and head up the coast into coastline not often tread. I carried everything - tent, drinking water, food and collecting gear. Even though it was late summer in New Zealand, you can almost expect anything! A cold front came through and while I was out I got hit by cold weather (almost into single digits in degrees C) and heavy rain. It was surely an interesting walk on the coast after the mudstone got wet!

 

Here's a picture that summarizes my trip. Sunscreen and sunhat - Daggy (downunder speak for not cool...) sunglasses one day, then later rain jacket and thermal balaclava......... I am still smiling under there by the way! The sunglasses are my safety glasses and I thought - hey I'm in the middle of nowhere and fossil hunting shouldn't be a fashion show....

 

More soon guys. Just thought I's say hi and say that I'll update everyone on what I've been up to.

 

Sorry for the absence and if I've missed any messages.

 

Craig

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[Ludwigia]

It's not like you've been completely absent. You have made the odd crabby comment, you know But it's nice to see you coming back in full swing again. Life is full of changes, but the main thing is to be organized and creative thereby. Looks like you've taken care of both ends with your trip up the coast. With fashionable and appropriate garments, for instance Looking forward to hearing more from you again.

[Doctor Mud]

Here's my campsite up the coast.

Its a Bivvy bag, which is a lightweight option if you want a "tent" without the weight. 2.5 kg it weighs. Trade off is that it is not for the claustrophobic - even though there is a pole arch over your head. I went to sleep with the surf crashing. Nice! 

[Doctor Mud]

Thanks Ludwigia,

 

Yes just starting getting back into TFF recently and watching the progress of "Mr Big" - I can't resist a good crab prep post.

[RJB]

Hey Doctor Mud.    Looks like we now know what the Great Dr. Mud looks like.  Looks like you had a great time.  Wish I was there. 

 

RB

[Doctor Mud]

22 hours ago, RJB said:

Hey Doctor Mud.    Looks like we now know what the Great Dr. Mud looks like.  Looks like you had a great time.  Wish I was there. 

 

RB

I had a blast thanks RB. Sure would be nice to have you visit NZ one day - but I know it is so far away....

[Doctor Mud]

So for a long time I have wanted to get away from the well picked over area close to the road and just see what is there. I've found some nice crabs and a partial dolphin skull but dreamed of what might be lying in wait on remote beaches where people hardly visit.

The coastline is fairly remote and rugged with access completely shut off by the tide in sections.

 

I looked at a geological map and also looked at Google Earth using the timeline feature to look at time slices in the past. This was really handy to see which parts of the coast are inundated during high tide. I could then figure out a schedule based on the tide charts and areas that I needed to get past by a certain time - otherwise I would get very wet.

 

I set off in beautiful sunshine with a pack containing drinking water, food, Bivvy bag (pictured), sleeping bag and collecting gear. I kept this to a minimum and only included a chisel, hammer and rock pick. I was prepared for all weather as a front was supposed to pass through while I was up there.

 

I made my way up the coast, boulder hoping. The going was a bit tougher than I was used to with the extra weight, so I had to be very careful on the slippery rocks.

 

Eventually I got into territory that was unfamiliar. It was really neat walking from cove to cove, not knowing what to expect around the next bend. Sometimes it was seal, disgruntled by being disturbed sunbathing. I had a few close calls where they were surprised so I made an effort to make as much noise as possible when coming around blind corners.

 

I passed out of the crab bearing rocks progressively into older rocks. There is an anticline (imagine an upside down U) where the rock has been compressed and the layers bent. Like pushing a rug up against a wall. You have young rocks on either side with older rocks in the middle. I believe there were late cretaceous limestones in the middle of the anticline. I came out the other side into Tertiary rocks just before sun-down. I set up camp ate, and then went to bed to the sound of the crashing surf.

 

The next morning I woke up and had to wait for the tide to get into crab country. I enjoyed the beautiful sun-rise while I had breakfast:

 

 

 

I decided to walk up into the hills and explore the geology. There was a lot happening, including that my campsite was near a massive old landslide:

 

 

This shot shows it really well. It looks like it had punched through the limestone scarp and you could follow the landslide up into the hills. It was like a big glacier made of mud with muddy lateral moraines and striations formed by pebbles and boulders carried in the mud. You can see the blue-grey mudstones that tend to have the Tumidocarcinus concretions in to the right. Older rocks are to the left (into the heart of the anticline).

 

 

[Doctor Mud]

While in the hills the rain set in and the temperature dropped. The rain was much heavier than forecast. Even though I had waterproof gear collecting was not going to be a pleasant experience. To add to that I went down to the beach to discover that the fine-grained limestone was very hazardous to walk on one wet. You had to plan every step or risk a fall. The potential seriousness of the situation hit home when I saw the local rescue helicopter fly by, presumably to pick someone up from further up the coast. I decided to wait out the rain and see if it cleared the next day. I had a sat-phone, but didn't want to chance it.

 

So close, but yet so far! It sounds crazy, but I decided to cut my losses and be safe and head back along the coast as it continued to rain and my tent could only do so much in the heavy rain. I encountered lots of seals, most would scamper off into the water, but one decided to stand its ground and defend its sleeping spot on a rock. I had only one way to go to get out so I had to just stand there and wait till he finally decided to head for the water.

 

There was one crux in the coast travel. A small sea-cave with surf coming in, even in low tide. Its impossible to judge the depth of water and you just have to time it, jump in and get out before the surf comes in. I was so tired I waited maybe 10 minutes working up the courage to do that section.

 

Finally I made it back into familiar territory with grippier rock - siltstones and conglomerates instead of the slippery marl. I was also back into crab bearing siltstone again.

 

Well so far no fossils in this fossil tale....... but that is about to change!

 

I found a sheltered spot and camped for the night. Disappointed that I had got so close. But happy to be safe.

 

Wouldn't ya know it but the next day was actually o.k. It cleared and my luck on the fossil front changed. I spotted a big concretion about to pop out of the siltstone....so I helped it along:

 

 

I wasn't convinced it had the right shape for a crab but it was begging to be split open.

It took me over an hour to split it. I worked around it with the hammer and chisel to try and encourage a lengthwise split.

It decided that it wouldn't behave though and split across the middle - go figure.

 

So what was inside - A dolphin skull!

[Doctor Mud]

It doesn't look like much yet as there is a lot of work ahead. I have showed pictures to the local museum and they said they would appreciate if I could have a go at prepping it.

First I have to get it to Australia! Boy I won't even mention what it took to haul that thing up the hill. I trimmed it down as much as I dared but it still took all my effort to stand up....

 

[Doctor Mud]

Here's the critical shot that told me what I had. This is a cross section, I think looking towards the snout, Braincase is in the other piece of rock? NZ fifty cent coin is 25 mm across.

Bone is dark brown with earbone exposed to the bottom left of the calcite.

 

 

 

[Doctor Mud]

I showed images to Bobby (Boesse) and he reckons this is a Delphinid based on the ear-bone.

 

The plan is to get it to Australia where I may be able to get access to some advanced nuclear imaging techniques through work. X-ray may not penetrate this rock so I might have to see if I can get access to something else. I would then decide if it is worth prepping it out - or if I could just 3D print based on the imaging.

Prepping would be nice too, but the rock is very hard!

[digit]

What a great tale. Enjoyed the photos and the recounting of the gripping story. Looking forward to hearing more about this concretion as you find out more.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[RJB]

Wow!  What a report!  Cool rock too.  Glad im not the one prepping that out!!!

 

RB

[Doctor Mud]

Thanks guys,

 

Its a beast RB. Lots of rock to deal with.

i think I would need to do some serious trimming with a mighty jack, chisel or rock saw.

It would be nice to have a peak via nuclear imaging techniques. The rock may be too big and dense for X-rays to penetrate. I know of alternative techniques using neutrons where I work and they have had great success with this on fossils. I think this was used to image a fossilized heart in a fish from Brazil.

 

ill keep you all updated.

[Doctor Mud]

Well finally, after hiding in the corner of my parents garage in NZ this cetacean skull is  going to get some tlc. I've donated it to the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch.

This find is quite important as the concretion was in situ. None of the existing cetacean skulls from here were in situ- in the cliff face.

As many will understand context is VERY important in paleontology. Time, place and stratigraphic position. Time may still be deduced from foraminifera or even mollusk fossils in a loose concretion, but stratigraphic info is very valuable. 

 

Ill keep you all posted on any progress.

[Ludwigia]

56 minutes ago, Doctor Mud said:

 

Ill keep you all posted on any progress.

 

Great! Did you manage to get it under some kind of machine to glimpse the contents?