Sasha says - Wai O Toura Geosite #2 - a podcast by Whitestone Geopark

Waitaki Whitestone geopark Geo-educator, Sasha, went out to a Geosite called, Wai O Toura, at Gards road in Duntroon earlier in the week to join DOC and some of their volunteers to do a whole lot of native planting out there. 

Transcript:

Radio announcer: Time to talk Geopark, joined by the Geoeducator Sasha. What are we talking about today Sasha?

Geoeducator: Hi. Well, today we're talking about a particular Geosite called Wai O Toura at Gards road in Duntroon. I went out there earlier in the week to join DOC and some of their volunteers to do a whole lot of native planting out there. So I just want to touch on that today.

Radio announcer: So how many people turned out to that?

Geoeducator: Well, we think that probably around about 50 volunteers. And they spent the morning planting. And then they stopped for lunch. Then I gave a bit of a talk on the Geopark and the Geosite in particular. And then there was also a woman there talking about how they collect the actual seeds to propagate into the plants that were being planted in the area. They're native seeds to the area. And it was really interesting just finding about how the collection went on and the germination of those seeds right through to the planting of them that they're trying to do in the area.

Radio announcer: So how does the planting work in with the Geopark?

Geoeducator: Well DOC plays a significant role in conserving, protecting and enhancing our environment. And that's what ties hand-in-hand with the Geopark, conserving and being stewards of our land and they're wanting to reintroduce Kowhai forests wherever possible along with other natives. So that's what they're doing. So it's all about conserving the area. And if people go out to the site to have a look, there is a car park there. They can go down and have a look at the actual site. It's a really interesting site. It's a big limestone escarpment. It's called the Otekaike Formation. And it's been known about for a very long time. It was originally on a route that people used to move through the Waitaki Valley and it was used for people to have shelter. There's been a number of artifacts recovered from the site. And the site's really interesting as far as being able to date the limestone itself. So back when it was deposited around about 20 million years ago. The area was really shallow, wide, warm, seas. So probably 50 to 100 meters deep. There's been a lot of fossils that have been recovered from the site, particularly by the University of Otago, the Geology Department. There's been penguins, there's been whales, dolphins, there's boney fish found there. So it's a really rich site and it's quite a continuous site. They've been able to date it. Right back from the 1930s it's been a site of interest. So I think at the roundabout, the bottom of the cliff, it's been dated about 25.2 million years. And towards the top, it's 21.7 million years. Now, the reason that this is quite important is that as people know, Gondwana, New Zealand, separated from Gondwana about 80 million years ago, and the plate, the Alpine fault kind of formed in the plate boundary formed around about 40, 45 million years ago. But the Kaikoura Orogeny where you got New Zealand going through a period of uplift was around about 25 million years ago. So it's around about the time of the top of the cliff when this was starting to happen. So it's when New Zealand really started to change and you started to get sea levels going out abit with the uplift. So it's a significant area to study. It's an interesting place to go and have a look.

Radio announcer: And it's all on our doorstep.  

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