Six preschoolers have drowned so far this year - equalling the total for 2010 - and water safety campaigners say it is a shocking start to the year.

Continuing a spate of drownings this New Zealand summer, three people have died in the water this weekend - including two small children.

A 52-year-old man who drowned at Muriwai Beach west of Auckland last night paid the ultimate price for not heeding the warning signs at the notoriously dangerous swimming spot.

Little Nylah Faamanu Vau, 2, went for her first swim yesterday, but will never have another one - she drowned at Waiwera Thermal Resort north of Auckland.

A toddler is dead after drowning at Waiwera Thermal Resort on the Hibiscus Coast this afternoon.

Rescue launched as pair were dragged out to sea when surfcasting off a popular Hawke's Bay beach.

A woman has drowned after being caught in a strong rip in southern Hawkes Bay today, while her nine-year-old son was saved.

The drowning death toll will rise if school swimming lessons aren't made compulsory, the Government has been warned.

This is the toll drowning has taken on New Zealand in the fortnight that the nation has been on holiday.

The tragic death of a Nelson teenager this week serves as a warning of the risks of suffering from shallow water blackout when holding your breath underwater, a water safety expert says.

He was playing a game that will be familiar to many from childhood. But when Sam Goodenough's turn came to try to hold his breath the longest underwater, the game turned to tragedy, when the16-year-old blacked out and failed to surface.

A teenager has died after reportedly competing with friends to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest.

Play it safe in the water and know your limits this summer, says Water Safety New Zealand.

Authorities are urging parents to stay within arm's reach of their children around water.

A senior member of Whakatane's Maori university, Mark Laws, drowned yesterday at the East Cape settlement of Te Kaha.

The second death in two years at a popular marine reserve has prompted calls for lifeguard patrols.

The mother of a girl who helped to rescue a friend of Raphael Alualu, who drowned after leaping into a swimming hole on Auckland's North Shore, say she is very proud of what her daughter did.

Raphael Alualu was just beginning to make something of his life when it was tragically cut short.

Police have named a 17-year-old boy who went missing after diving into a North Shore lake yesterday.