Boys on washing up duty after Waimarama beach rescue in Hawke's Bay

Three young boys have been placed on washing up duty for the rest of the week after being caught in the water off a remote Hawke's Bay beach when the tide came in.

Local residents, police, surf life savers, LandSAR and a rescue helicopter helped locate Zarne Wehi, 11, and 14-year-old's Tu Teira Brightwell and Jaedem Sydney after they became stuck and separated in the surf in Waimarama.

Emergency services were called to near Red Rock, about 2km south of Waimarama, about 4.30pm on Tuesday.

Tu Teira managed to swim to shore, but was separated from his friends.

He was located by a local man, before being taken to shore via boat, where he was tearfully reunited with his shaken parents.

Tu Teira was located by a local man and taken to shore via boat, where he was reunited with his parents. Photo / Supplied

Cousins Zarne and Jaedem made it back to land and started scaling the steep farmland, before coming back down to shoreline when they realised they couldn't make it further.

Jaedem's father, Pomare, was attending a class at the Waimarama Marae Kura Reo when the news broke.

Councillor and chair of the Cray Bay Trust Bayden Barber said Pomare, along with 80 Maori students, left the marae with the aim of helping.

"My involvement really was as a local landowner," he said. "I organised for the gates to be unlocked, so police could access the farm and forestry road.

"When I got to the kūkū rocks, Pomare and his wife were very distraught. We and the fathers of the other two boys took a truck up through the Cray Bay block along with two police dog trackers."

The boys, from Hastings but staying in the seaside village, were found by the rescue helicopter at 7.40pm.

Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter general manager Ian Wilmot said the boys were located easily by the team.

"They were trapped by the tide, but the helicopter hovered just above the ground and the boys were able to just step into the helicopter," he said.

"Its rare type of rescue – if you can't get a decent landing site and its accessible to load someone like that, it's a whole lot easier than winching down a paramedic to hook them up in the harness."

Police were called to Waimarama about 4.30pm on Tuesday after initial reports of three young males in difficulty in the water. Photo / Supplied

Crowds of locals gathered and cheers were heard when the boys emerged from the helicopter upon landing.

Jaedem said he and Zarne first tried to swim to safety, but "the water was too strong".

"We didn't want to take the risk of getting into trouble again," he said. "And I had to look after the young one as well."

Barber said he and the family were relieved to receive the news of the boys rescue whilst searching in the bush.

"As you can imagine the parents were overwhelmed with joy," he said. "But I told the boys they're on dishes at the marae for the rest of the week."

Tukituki MP Anna Lorck, who was holidaying in Waimarama with her family, said relatives of the boys at the scene were "very concerned".

"I was extremely impressed with the local search and rescue teams and their support and communication," she said.

"We were all very pleased and relieved to see the boys walk off the helicopter safe and back to their families."

Mihi were given and a short karakia ceremony was undertaken upon return to the marae.

The boy's quad bike remained stuck near Red Rock on Wednesday morning, with locals offering to attempt to recover it at low tide.