Arahura River

 

Last week on Queens Birthday Monday, B and I drove to the Arahura Valley which is just north of Hokitika in search of Pounamu aka Greenstone. Originally I was under the impression that the ordinary person was not allowed to pick up this gem from river beds but after googling again B found more up to date information which said that you can as long as it's not from private property.

We had heard that this particular river is a good place to start so we carefully climbed down the rocks to the water below which was freezing cold.

 

We managed to walk across the river further upstream where it was shallow over to the sand and rocks on the other side. 

These are the pieces that we found not just on the sand but in the river water. When they are wet you can see how green they are but once they dry they turn a dull grey. B is going to buy some polishing equipment so we can shine them up nicely.

Linking up with Through my lens, Tuesday treasures, Ruby Tuesday, My corner of the world, Wordless Wednesday.