In 1958, Petroleum Geologist Don Haw was mapping the rocks in the Mohaka river catchment of Western Hawkes Bay. The project was part of a wide ranging exercise to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of the East Coast basin at that time for BP, Shell and Todd. His discovery of reptile bones in the Cretaceous sediments […]
NZ’s First Reptile Discoverer returns to Mangahouanga Read More »
On our second day in the Maungataniwha Forest, some of us explored the lower Mangahouanga Stream using the well established kiwi river transport method of tyre tubes. This allowed us to visit parts of the river that would otherwise be very difficult to reach. Initial access to the river was via bush bashing through pine
Tyre Tubing the Mangahouanga Stream Read More »
The first barrier to accessing Mangahouanga Stream Three years ago I visited Mangahouanga Stream in Hawkes Bay along with a group of GNS Scientists. This is the area where Joan Wiffen, New Zealand’s famous “Dragon Lady” found the only known bones of dinosaurs from New Zealand, as well as various marine reptiles, prior to her
Reptile Fossils from an Unexplored Valley. Read More »
Over the last few days I have been with a GNS Science team exploring the remote Mangahouanga Stream in inland Hawkes Bay. This is the area that is famous for the discoveries of dinosaur and other reptile remains by Joan Wiffen (who died in June last year) and her team. It is on private land,
Cretaceous Reptiles in Hawke’s Bay Read More »