Beachgoers finally get to celebrate

SUMMER'S HERE: Zoe Ballot, 5, pulls her brother Kade, 2, along the beach at Tay St with her parents Denise and Andrew watching on. PHOTO/RUTH KEBER

Zoe Ballot loves heading to the beach in the summer because of the waves.

Joined by her parents, Denise and Andrew, and brother, Kade, 2, the 5-year-old and her family are happy now.

Earlier weather reports indicated a sketchy start to 2015 for the Bay but with a high of 25C and lows of 18C so far summer has set in.

New Year's Eve saw a high of 23C and a low of 18C with the first two days of the new year bringing in a high of 25C.

MetService recorded a max temperature of 27C for January 2014 and 30C in January the year before.

In Niwa's seasonal outlook for January, temperatures were most likely to be near average, rainfall in the normal range and soil moisture levels and river flows were about equally likely to be in the near normal or below normal range.

Tauranga's Denise Ballot said she brought her family to the beach every summer they had lived in the Bay.

"Since the weather has gotten better we have been here every day. We normally come down and swim, sometimes we bring the dog, other times just to build sand castles, others we go for a walk on the beach.

"The kids just love it. Park or beach was the question this morning and beach it was."

Greerton's Jono Seabourne went down to the beach for the first time this summer with good friends from Auckland yesterday.

"It was a great day at the beach. It was packed. The waves were pretty intense - it was quite hard for a friend to hold onto his 7-year-old kid but he loved it.

"It was just great to see lots of families enjoying it. There were lots of umbrellas everywhere and people having lots of fun. People surfing, boogy boarding and hanging in the surf all together, it really felt like a community, it was awesome."