The final in our series marking the 50th anniversary of the partnership between BP and Surf Life Saving New Zealand.
For 23-year-old Dannielle O'Connor there is nothing like the feeling of saving a life – and she has done so many times.
As a surf lifeguard at the Omanu Surf Life Saving Club in Mt Maunganui, she has been involved in countless rescues.
"It is always special knowing you have helped someone and that because of the work you and others like you have done, they are going home to their family," she says. "At the end of the day you can feel pretty good about that."
Knowing this it comes as no surprise O'Connor has a passion for surf lifesaving: A third generation surf lifeguard, she practically has salt water in her veins.
Her maternal grandfather Dan Harris is a much respected stalwart of the Waihi Beach Surf Life Saving Club who retired just four years ago, while her parents Sean and Janine O'Connor got to know each other through surf lifesaving.
"Grandad was trying to get new people to join so he went to swimming clubs, tapping people on the shoulder to get them to try surf lifesaving, and my Dad was one of those who got shoulder-tapped," says O'Connor. "That's how he ending up meeting Mum."
Her earliest memories include summer Sunday mornings on the beach at Waihi, where the family had a bach, training as a nipper and constantly nagging her parents, "can we go to the beach? Can we go, can we go?"
O'Connor's younger brother Lochlainn has followed in the family footsteps and at 17, is a swimming and surf lifesaving superstar, she says. But O'Connor is no slouch herself when it comes to the competitive side of surf lifesaving.
Her long list of accomplishments include bringing home a variety of medals from Surf Life Saving New Zealand and world championships.
Now 23, she says, "I've pretty much grown up at the beach and my surf life saving club is like my second family. I couldn't imagine life without it."
Her story comes as Surf Life Saving New Zealand is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its partnership with BP - believed to be the longest unbroken corporate sponsorship of any kind in New Zealand.
O'Connor became a qualified surf lifeguard as soon as she was old enough at 14 and still finds it rewarding when she's able to prevent someone getting into a situation requiring a full-blown rescue.
"We can keep an eye on people and although they might not be in trouble, we can get on our boards, go out and see them and check they are okay.
"Sometimes you find kids on boogie boards who have gone out further than they are comfortable with and are just starting to panic. You can talk to them, help them to calm down and show them how to get back.
"You're going fast but time seems to go slowly," she says. "Your training kicks in and you just take it step by step. We all work well as a team, and we have great equipment, like IRBs (inflatable rescue boats), which make a huge difference."
Most of the people who could have lost their lives if it wasn't for the actions of the surf lifeguards are extremely grateful, with many of them returning to the beach later to say thank you and, in some cases, donating to Surf Life Saving New Zealand, which is a charity.
But there are those who aren't always gracious about being rescued: "You get those people who are embarrassed about needing to be helped and there are some guys who are self-conscious about being helped by a girl," says O'Connor.
"I'm tall, and no fairy, so I think that helps them to not feel so bad about being rescued by me."
Sadly, not all rescues have a positive outcome. O'Connor can find it hard to let go of the memories of some of the incidents she's been involved in that have ended tragically, like the rescue of a man who had a heart attack, and unfortunately did not survive.
"You try not to dwell on these things but I will never forget bringing him back to his family. That was traumatic. But we reviewed what happened and we knew that we did our best in the situation."
Over the last year, O'Connor has had less time to devote to her surf life saving thanks to the demands of completing a law degree while working fulltime doing administration and business support. She's based in Hamilton for work and study, but she gets to Omanu as much as she can to help out with education and training of younger surf lifeguards, as well as patrolling the beach.
No matter how busy life gets, she'll always find a way to be involved in some aspect of surf lifesaving.
"I'm addicted to it – but in a good way of course," she says. And if she one day has kids of her own who show an interest in becoming the fourth generation of surf lifeguards in the family?
"Yeah, I'd be very happy about that."
