Kiwis head for the water, as tsunami warning remains

There are reports around New Zealand of people returning to the water, despite tsunami warnings. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Paua fishermen are diving back into the seas and surfers are out to catch waves even as tsunami warnings stay in place and coastguards advise beach-goers to stay away from the water.

Ships evacuated from the Port of Auckland are also returning.

A tsunami warning has been issued by civil defence all morning and surges of up to 1.5 metres have struck New Zealand, but many beaches report little disruption as people brave the waters.

Locals in Hicks Bay, East Cape, were diving into the sea for paua, kina and crayfish, and fishermen had been back on the rocks by noon, said Hicks Bay Motel Lodge owner John Campbell.

More than 100 of them had earlier abandoned their homes to watch the tsunami arrive from higher ground, expecting the surges that had hit the Chatham Islands to arrive, Mr Campbell said.

There had been minor fluctuations and one surge swept 20 metres up a rivermouth, but locals were not convinced there would be any further danger, he said.

Civil Defence emergency management continues to report a 0.3-metre surge at East Cape.

In the Bay of Plenty, surf lifesaving clubs rushed people off beaches all along the coast but said some surfers had refused to heed warnings and headed out to catch the tsunami wave.

Beach-goers were being told to stay out of the water but a few were ignoring warnings, said Mount Maunganui patrol captain Danielle Shepherd.

"There are a handful that either don't care or think they're capable," Ms Shepherd said.

In Pitt Island, surges had calmed down but caution remained in place, said Flowerpot Lodge owner Brent Mallinson.

At its peak, sea levels had fluctuated by two metres every two minutes, Mr Mallinson said.

"It wasn't scary, but we could see there was a lot of water moving," he said.

There had been no damage but people were still staying out of the water, he said.

Port of Auckland operations have resumed after a 30-minute shut down between 10.45am and 11.15am, and commercial vessels - including a 2000-passenger cruise ship - are returning to the port after being evacuated to deep harbour.

Cruise ship Dawn Princess, which has a capacity of 1990 passengers, and other large commercial vessels were moved to deep water east of Fergusson and outside Rangitoto Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

Dawn Princess passengers were dropped off on shore.

Port spokeswoman Catherine Etheredge said warnings remained in place but after discussions with civil defence and the harbourmaster, it had been decided ships could return.

Port services general manager Wayne Mills said the tsunami threat had not been great but a cautious approach was taken.

Port operations were shut down for half an hour between 10.45am and 11.15am.

Auckland ferries were also called off or delayed between 10am and 11am.

Waiheke ferries at 10am and harbour cruises at 10.30am were among cancellations announced at Auckland's ferry terminal.

Boaties near Waiheke Island reported they had been approached by authorities to head out to open seas.

Onetangi Beach Races on Waiheke Island, which had been scheduled for today, has been postponed until March 14.

In Wellington, a mass nude photo shoot at Breaker Bay was postponed.

City council emergency preparedness manager Fred Mecoy said the photoshoot, in which more than 100 people were expected to take part, had been cancelled due to the "obvious concerns we have about safety".

Dragon boat racing event on Wellington Harbour was also cancelled as a safety precaution.

A police vessel in Wellington harbour and boats in Porirua harbour had been evacuated from their moorings, said group controller Rian Van Schalkwyk.

In Whakatane, coastal campsites were told to evacuate and a welfare centre set up at the town's War Memorial Hall.