A family including a young child had to be rescued after becoming trapped inside a small cave on the Northland coastline by a high tide and large swells.
A couple and their daughter, aged about 10, found themselves stuck in the same cove between Ding Bay and Langs Beach in Waipu as Raro the dog, who found fame after news broke of her dramatic rescue by volunteer lifeguards.
The trio were making their way along the popular jaunt on Monday afternoon when the tide closed in, and swells peaked at about two metres. Waipu Cove club captain Kath Manning believed the family must have misjudged the tide.
Stranded in the cove and clinging to rocks, they managed to call for help by cellphone. The Waipu Volunteer Fire Brigade arrived first but could not reach the family, roughly six metres below the fire crew.
Manning said firefighters considered using ropes to pull them out but two Waipu Cove surf lifeguards soon arrived in an inflatable rescue boat (IRB).