Sunday afternoon's heat wave was enough to persuade thousands of people to head to the coast to enjoy this year's Waimarama Beach Day.
The weather looked cool, but Napier and Hastings went on to record the top two temperatures in the country on Sunday, both about 27C - perfect conditions to kick off the beach day which had been called off a fortnight ago because of rain.
The day began with the Wild Spirit Kiwiana Games inside the Waimarama Domain at 9am, followed by the Tremains Real Estate Beach Dig and the Breakers Cafe and Bar Sand Sculpture Competition.
The Department of Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the National Aquarium and the Hawke's Bay Regional Council combined to offer the Pearls of Wisdom Seaweek Treasure Hunt along the beach.
Keeping the beach safe during summer is paramount to the Waimarama Surf Lifesaving Club and the group had worked with staff from the Lowe Rescue Helicopter service to perform a rescue demonstration so people could see the two in action.
Space on the beach directly opposite the domain was at a premium after lunch as people arrived in numbers to cool off in the sea.
Popular Hawke's Bay band Devils Elbow entertained people from 1pm in the domain as the weather warmed up in time to showcase the young entrants in this year's Wearable Beach Art competition, won by Stella Hansen from Elsthorpe.
More than 2000 people crammed into the domain for the main event, Miss Waimarama, and 30 entrants put their names forward for the bikini pageant.