Fossil Hunting - Shark Tooth Beach!
This is probably one of the coolest things I've come across to do and anyone can do it :) Great for adults and kids alike.
Big Bay, Cape Town aka Shark Tooth Beach
Fossil Treasure Hunting
Fossils washing out of the ocean can quite literally be found anywhere around the world's coastlines. The key thing to look out for are areas where there are lots of stones and shells that get washed up.
There are certain Hot Spots and we're lucky enough to live close to one of these. Big Bay (as we aptly nicknamed Shark Tooth Beach) lies on the West Coast of Cape Town, about a 25 minute drive from the mother city.
I just find it amazing that you can go strolling along the beach and pick up fossils that are millions of years old!
We've picked up various fossilized teeth i.e. Great white's, Megalodon's, Mako's etc as well as a fossilized whale eardrum.
Aside from these there are so many other fossils that you or I may find i.e. Ammonite shells, vertebra, Mosasaur teeth etc. This isn't something we've been doing for too long so I'll still be finding plenty fossils going forward.
If you ever come to my neck of the woods and don't find anything there is almost always someone selling some to make some bread money.
If you'd like to support them please do. I prefer finding my own however have bought some to help out in my own little way. Just don't let them try and rip you off.
They key is patience, going at low tide, searching along the wash-up and simply enjoying the great outdoors. We don't always find fossils. We enjoy the treasure hunt and the beautiful scenery along the beach. When we do find something though, the excitement and joy on my son's (and my) face is priceless :):) It's just such a cool feeling.
Here are some links with more handy tips and advise. Go check it out and start your own adventure :)
http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/lyme_regis_fossils.htm
https://daniellesdives.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/shark-teeth-101-beach-hunting-tips/
Happy hunting!!
Cheers!! Have fun everyone :):)
Thats actually really awesome!! I have never actually thought of such a thing to be a hobbie!! Wow
Yeah @fates. It sure is :):) You're around my area. You should come join us sometime. Heck, perhaps we can get a whole group of Capetonian Steemians together to join in the fun. It's good fun :)
CPT Steemit shark tooth hunt!!
Sounds like an amazing adventure!!!
Im in
Yeah!! There's cool title right there :) We can even turn it into a competition of sorts. Whoever finds the first, best, most or whatever fossils gets to do the post plus receives extra rewards, SP, SBD, whatever... something like that?
That can work, with summer coming and all.
#teamsouthafrica will be behind it all and the person that judges it could be the sharktooth fairy. Lol
Yeah, something like that :):)
Whoa, even I would get a kick out of finding a shark's tooth! So cool! You have quite the colletion of treasures there! Thanks for participating in this week's Hobby Hub challenge! Good luck!
Sure, I think just about anyone can enjoy it and ty :):)
Looks like such fun, quite a change from hunting for sea shells! And junior is like a mini version of you @therneau :)
Yup, sure is... as for mini me, if I had to compare pics there'll definitely be a very close resemblance :):)
I love fossils. :)
And you made a fun post about it too.
You have my vote. :)
They're so cool right :) Thank you!! I'm glad you liked the post :):)
Id love to go shark teeth hunting lol. :) No such luck here....im happy to find a shell or smth. :)
Hehe, yeah, it is pretty cool :):) Well, at least you have lots of mushrooms!
Good entry, good luck!
Thank you @hope777 :):)
Wow, that is so cool. We never find anything as cool as shark teeth, but we have found some cool stuff like sand dollars. I guess it depends on each beach - they all have different stuff. :)
Lol, sand dollars. Well that could work too :):)
Sounds like you had fun. I have a stone that looks like a huge tooth, that I like to say is a dragon tooth hehe I forget where I found it and i know it's a stone, but I like to imagine it's a dragon tooth anyway ;)
Hehe, nothing wrong with that :):) Imagination is a valuable part of being human. You should send me a pic :) I'd love to see the dragon tooth!
Sure sounds like a lot of fun, collected shells and unusual things but never found sharks teeth, suppose they are there @theneau
Treasure hunting the beach for teeth most unusual and fun way to spend time together with the children, well done.
They are there. Like I mentioned there are hotspots however they can wash up anywhere. You just need to train your eyes a bit... I just look for triangular shapes :D