There were between 200 and 300 people on Castlecliff and Kai Iwi beaches on Boxing Day. Photo / Mike Tweed
There were between 200 and 300 people on Castlecliff and Kai Iwi beaches on Boxing Day. Photo / Mike Tweed
Outside of a punch-up and a couple of assists, the Whanganui community has remained safe at the beach this holiday season.
“Some people got into a disagreement on Kai Iwi beach recently and it ended up with a bit of fight,” Wanganui Surf Lifeguard Service administrator Matthew Newell said.
“The police came out to sort it.
“In the water, though, everything has been pretty good.”
Teams of four lifeguards, plus additional volunteers, will be patrolling Castlecliff and Kai Iwi beaches from noon to 6pm every day until the end of January - then after that, only at weekends.
Supervisor Jack Clifton was marshalling the troops at Castlecliff on Wednesday afternoon.
He said the public had been well-behaved over the past few weeks and were generally swimming between the flags.
“There have been a few small assists where guards go out and help patients back to shore, but we’ve been taking preventative actions to ensure there doesn’t have to be any major rescues.”
Before the flags are set up, a guard tests the waters in the area so they know the direction of the drift.
“In terms of lifeguards, I think we had the most amount of applications ever this year. There are eight new recruits in a team of around 27,” Clifton said.
“A few months of training begin from August onwards. We get a group together and have a couple of sessions a week.
“That involves a lot of swimming training, learning what to do in the water, learning how to use all the equipment, and quite a few safety protocols.”
He said a head count of visitors was taken each day, with between 200 and 300 people at both beaches over Boxing Day.
“There have been some pretty busy days, especially with this weather.”
In 2021, there were 90 drownings in New Zealand – the worst year since 2011 - but this year’s total has already reached that.
Four people drowned in separate incidents around the country over Christmas Day and Boxing Day this year.
Only one occurred on the coast - at Cape Runaway in the Bay of Plenty.
Newell said swimming in the Whanganui River was treacherous, regardless of the time of year.
“There have been quite a few drownings in the river. In fact, nearly all the drownings in our area have been there.
“We encourage people to swim at the beach between the flags. We can keep an eye on them and keep them safe.
“If it’s too rough, use the Splash Centre or the Whanganui East Pool, which is open again.”
Lifeguards on duty at Castlecliff Beach on Wednesday were (from left): Harrison Smith, Layton Comp, Sophia Bedwell and Finnian Sinclair. Photo / Mike Tweed
Gilles Van Oosterwyck was visiting Whanganui from Belgium, and said he had already been to Castlecliff Beach twice in the last couple of days.
His travelling companions were from Germany and the Netherlands.
“To be honest, I didn’t know a whole lot about Whanganui before we came. It seemed to be a bigger city on the map, so that’s where we went,” Van Oosterwyck said.
