Tucked along the southern shore of New Zealand’s South Island is a hidden gem—lots of them, in fact. When the tide drops at the aptly named Gemstone Beach , you can find beautiful stones rounded by waves. Occasionally, you can even discover semiprecious gemstones like garnet, quartz, jasper, nephrite, or sapphire. As the water rinses the stones, their true colors appear, from sea green and rust red to turquoise. Tripadvisor reviewer Greg T. , who visited Gemstone Beach in 2023, noted that “if you are into unique stones generally smoothed by the wave action, large and small, then this is for you! [The] best time is as the tide is going out, as the stones are still wet, and you can see all the differences in the stone … everyone looks around the main entrance but [the] best ones are over the stream.” Other than the occasional rock hunter, Gemstone Beach tends to be quiet. It is located on the remote Te Waewae Bay near the small country township of Orepuki.…