Old rocks lure U.S. visitors

Press, 14 July 1982, Page 23

Old rocks lure U.S. visitors

Few visitors to New Zealand travel thousands of kilometres to pore over rocks in mid-winter - but that is just what a group of staff and students from Beloit College. in Wisconsin, are doing. The entire staff of five from the college's geology department and 20 of their students are at the end of a 10-week tour which has taken them to Western Samoa. Tonga, and New Zealand. The latest eight weeks have been spent in New Zealand, where the group leader, Professor Henry Woodard, and his charges have visited all the national parks and most of the significant volcanic and geothermal areas.

Professor Woodard first visited New Zealand with his wife, who is also a geologist, in 1976 after they had attended the International Geological Congress meetings in Australia.

He had the idea of bringing a student group here some time after that, but the final decision was not made until last year. Professor Woodard has previously taken groups to Hawaii and Central America

but this is the largest group he has taken overseas, and over the longest distance. Four of the students have graduated recently and the rest are undergraduates. About half are using the trip to meet the requirements of their studies-while the other half are using the trip just to gain geological background and experience. They range in age from 19 to 25. with six women and 14 men. Professor Woodard said New Zealand was a particularly suitable place for a study tour. "Geologically New Zealand is very young and a lot has happened in a very short space of time, making it a very good place to bring a group of students." he said. "We can illustrate a lot of processes and do it very well." Another reason for choosing New Zealand was because he liked it. Professor Woodard said. Members of the group are travelling through New' Zealand in three rental vans, staying at youth hostels. Their travelling schedule had to be worked out far in

advance to enable youth hostel bookings and a general plan of the itinerary. Travelling in their long summer vacation has had several advantages for the group.. They are able to travel at about half price because of the winter season in New Zealand. This has also meant that they have had much of the country to themselves. Throughout New Zealand they have had contact with other geologists, through universities. museums and the New Zealand Geological Survey. Many of these contacts were made from the United States, while others were contacts made once they arrived in an area. The chief interest of the group in the Canterbury region has been the eastern side of the Southern Alpine chain, and they have also spent several days examining the western" side. The volcanoes on Banks Peninsula have also been a source of interest. The group visited the Castle Hill region yesterday, looking at younger rocks associated with the Castle Hill basin. Throughout their

travels the geologists have taken rock samples, which are proving something of a problem to get home. Some have been shipped back to the United States while others will be taken as airline luggage. Their trip will end today when they will fly. from Christchurch to Auckland to connect with a flight for America. Some will be making stops in Hawaii and the West Coast of America on the way home. One vulcanologist will stay on in New Zealand for two or three weeks to study Ruapehu and Tongariro.

Professor Woodard said that the trip had been extremely worth while. Assuming he could find a place he wanted to see. he would not hesitate to take another student group overseas. Asked if he would consider bringing another group to New Zealand. Professor Wood- ard said that such a trip would be considerably different and improved the second time around.