Samantha Motion: Tragedies remind us our region is beautiful but it can also be deadly

Beachgoers crowd Mount Maunganui Main Beach last summer. Photo / File

OPINION

Phew, it's been warm out there over the last few days.

Summer has arrived everywhere in every sense but the calendar.

That means it's that time of year again where we all get to appreciate how lucky we are to live in the Bay of Plenty, a region with an abundance of cool, refreshing and - mostly - pretty clean and swimmable waterways.

Around the coasts of Tauranga and the Western Bay, sea surface temperatures are already creeping up over 18 degrees, and some of the Rotorua lakes - including Rotoehu and Rotorua - are even warmer.

No surprise, then, to see lots of people out enjoying the water in recent days.

Unfortunately, emergency services have had to head out, too.

On Monday, a man was pulled from the water unresponsive at Waihī Beach, but died despite of attempts to save his life.

On Sunday, two men had to be rescued after falling off their kayak on Lake Rotorua.

They were plucked from the water by a jetboat and were uninjured.

On Saturday, police started a search for a surfer reported missing of Papamoa Beach based on a witness report of a surfer drifting out to sea.

No one was found and police have since suspended the search and appealed for more information.

The best outcome is that it was a false alarm, in which case the witness would still deserve credit for speaking up to save a life, as would the searchers for taking it seriously.

And last week, Aucklander Michael Joseph Finekifolau, 22, went swimming at Mount Maunganui and was never seen alive again, despite an extensive search.

His body came ashore about 15km east of where he went missing, allowing his family to take him home again.

Statistics suggest these will not be the only tragedies and mishaps on our beaches and waterways this summer.

In the Bay of Plenty last year, there were four preventable drowning deaths and 20 hospitalisations, according to Water Safety New Zealand.

In a way, this was an improved result given the eight souls lost in preventable drownings in the region in 2018 - a 50 per cent decrease - but I think we can all agree that one is one too many.

Please, take care if you head out on the water this summer. Know your limits and how to spot danger. Watch the children constantly. Understand the environment you're going into and be prepared.

Our region is beautiful, but it can also be deadly.