Crowded beaches for holiday

FAMILY FUN: Yesterday was only slightly quieter at Ruakaka Beach after a bumper day with more than 400 people on Sunday. PHOTOS/TANIA WHYTE

Northlanders and visitors alike flocked to Northland's beaches this Anniversary Holiday weekend as warm temperatures and sunshine meant the water was the place to be.

But beach life didn't come without problems: Ruakaka Surf Lifesaving club captain Tania Ahrens said that just after 7pm on Sunday a crab fisherman at Uretiti Beach got into trouble. The man had been caught in a rip and a member of the public had jumped in to help him.

Lifeguards on an IRB plucked the man, who did not need medical attention, from the water. Uretiti Beach was particularly dangerous the couple hours either side of low tide, which was about 6pm on Sunday.

That had been the only major rescue over the weekend despite about 400 people at the beach each day, Ms Ahrens said.

The Mangawhai Volunteer Surf Lifeguard Service reported eight minor rescues at the beach over the weekend, mainly from people getting caught in the outgoing tide.

More than 600 people enjoyed the beach at Mangawhai with few other problems reported.

Whangarei Heads Volunteer Surf Lifesaving Patrol reported several hundred people at Ocean Beach with bathers well behaved and no rescues needed.

Dolphins kept beachgoers entertained at Ocean Beach on Saturday and Sunday and big surf provided some good waves for surfers.

Aleesha Mitchell, of Auckland, said she had been camping with her kids at Ruakaka Beach Holiday Park since Christmas but was heading back last night to start work this week.

The weather had been great as it had only rained two or three times in the month they had stayed, Ms Mitchell said.

MetService meteorologist John Law said temperatures have been very high, with many spots seeing the thermometer hitting the high twenties and even thirties.

The official high in Northland was 26C in Whangarei on Saturday, but with the official temperature recorded in a louvred, shaded box at Whangarei Airport, the real temperature will be much higher elsewhere.

"The subtropical origin of the air associated with this low pressure system means the warm temperatures, along with higher humidity, are set to stay with us this week," Mr Law said

Easterly swells associated with an area of low pressure to the north of the country are likely to make for some higher seas off the coasts of Coromandel and Northland.

The latest forecasts are available at metservice.com