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Bruce Mahalski / Supplied
A chunk of ambergris found on a Dunedin beach.
A golf ball-sized piece of whale waste can help a Dunedin woman save money for a home.
That lump will be examined this week at the Otago Museum to confirm if it is ambergris.
Ambergris is a wax-like substance secreted in the intestines of the sperm whale. Protect the whale’s stomach from its abrasive diet of beaked squid.
It has been used for centuries in expensive perfumes, as it traps the scent on the skin for long periods.
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Its relative rarity also means it can attract high prices, over $ 10,000 a kilogram.
That’s an exciting prospect for the woman, who didn’t want to be named, after finding the 100g lump on Aramoana beach earlier this year.
Iain McGregor / Stuff
Aramoana Beach is a popular seaside location, north of Dunedin (file photo).
“It is one of my favorite beaches in New Zealand.”
And it is easy to see why.
At first, he thought the lump was pumice, but immediately felt its weight.
The woman had approached a merchant to buy the bundle, but first she wanted confirmation from an expert.
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The Southern Scenic Route from Queenstown to Dunedin is one of the most impressive road trips on the planet.
She used the proceeds from a sale to buy a house.
Bruce Mahalski of the Dunedin Natural Mystery Museum was sitting in a pub when he heard the woman talk about her find.
“I asked him if he had a photo and he took it out of his bag.”
Mahalski, who used to work in fisheries research, identified a squid beak within the bundle.
“It looks good to me.”
A confirmed find of ambergris could have aspiring treasure hunters combing the beach, but Mahalski cautioned that many of them would be collecting and tasting “dog droppings.”
“The possibility of finding something today would be as remote as financing something yesterday.”
A find of 40 kg of ambergris, equivalent to the normal total annual export of the substance, was found in southern Wairarapa in 2011.
