Next stop was to the marine terraces high above Whangamoana Beach, near Lake Ferry. We had to walk very carefully along the edge of the cliff face as it was a long way down and we didn't want to slip! The tops of these terraces formed the sea floor millions of years ago and were down at sea level.
My most recent field trip was with GNS Science to the South Wairarapa. I tagged along with seismologists visiting from California. We walked up the riverbed of the Wharekauhau Stream to see the "Wharekauhau thrust",huge cliffs composed of thick layers of bedrock,silt containing ancient tree trunks and roots and marine gravels. You can see the layers quite clearly in the photos.
Wow! You are a time traveller Mrs Ryan, being able to walk back in time on land that was on the bottom of the ocean millions of years ago.
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