Bus Trips 2026

#2631 Bus Trip to Castlepoint (Rangiwhakaono) and Mataikona

Guide        Chris Hollis

Date Saturday 14th March 8am-5pm

Destination Wairarapa

Cost WEA members $85, non-members $95

Transport Bus departure points, times and itinerary will be emailed to those who register

Dr Chris Hollis has a PhD in geology. He spent most of his career as a research scientist at GNS Science, where he led research on the geological record of climate change and the environmental effects of geological events, such as the asteroid impact that caused a mass extinction 66 million years ago. Chris now lives in Wairarapa where he continues research as an Adjunct Professor at VUW and provides professional development for local teachers in field-based geoscience.

Chris will guide us on the field trip and discuss the various fascinating geological features in three areas: between Masterton and Castlepoint, where there is an interesting succession of young alluvial sediments, older remnants of an ancient seaway and much older sedimentary rocks; at Castlepoint, where richly fossiliferous sandstone and limestone of early Pleistocene age represents a submarine slump deposited over older Pliocene mudstone; and along the coast at Mataikona and Whakataki where layers of tilted Miocene sandstone and mudstone represent hundreds of mass flow events (caused by earthquakes or storms) carrying sand and mud into the deep sea.