Motorists urged to slow down on Castlecliff and Kai Iwi Beaches in Whanganui

Guards are on patrol from noon to 6pm each day.

Surf lifeguards are urging motorists to slow down on busy Whanganui beaches and avoid flagged areas this summer.

Wanganui Surf Lifeguard Service club captain Daniel Comp said speeding vehicles, particularly motorbikes, had been causing “a lot of issues” and were putting beachgoers at risk.

“It’s getting dangerous, especially for those kids building sandcastles,” he said. “Where we can, lifeguards have started taking photos and reporting them to the police.

“There is a blatant disregard for other people’s safety.”

Comp said he managed to stop six motorbikes coming through the flagged area at Castlecliff Beach on Sunday, December 29. Some bikes on the beach appeared to be going at least twice the speed limit, he said.

In 2019, Whanganui District Council lowered the speed limit on beaches from 100km/h to 30km/h.

“Lifeguards have had enough,” Comp said.

“We are trying to concentrate on the water and keep everyone safe, and now we’re dealing with what’s flying past behind us.”

Whanganui police area prevention manager Inspector Phil Weaver said beaches were defined as roads under the Land Transport Act.

“If we receive complaints, we are going to act on them and may prosecute, it’s as simple as that,” he said. “We get enough deaths on our roads.”

Weaver said members of the public should notify police of unsafe behaviour at the beach to prevent accidents and injuries. Comp said the Castlecliff and Kai Iwi beaches were busier than last summer but there had been no rescues – “so far, so good”.

There were well over 200 people on Kai Iwi Beach and 65 in the water “in a snapshot” on Saturday afternoon, he said.

Both beaches have lifeguards on patrol from noon to 6pm each day. There were about 35 rescues during the 2023/24 summer holiday period, including three after-hours rescues in one day.

Daniel Comp says he stopped six motorbikes in a day on Castlecliff Beach.

“Some people might question why the flags are so close together sometimes, but there is a reason for that,” Comp said.

“We know there are rips and strong currents out the back.

“If you’re swimming outside the flags, we’re keeping an eye on you but you’re not our first priority.”

Comp said four teenage boys were stuck in a rip outside the flags at Castlecliff Beach last weekend but they managed to stand up and come back in.

“At that stage, lifeguards were watching around 40 people between the flags.” He said if conditions were rough, a lifeguard with a rescue tube was stationed in the water – “a bit of crowd control” – so they could communicate with the public.

Whanganui had more than 30 lifeguards this summer and for the first time, there was a patrol support team, Comp said.

“They do the same exam as the lifeguards but they don’t do the water stuff – swimming and tube rescues, things like that.

“We actually had one support parent, in his 50s, go back and train and get his full lifeguard award.”

He said there had been bluebottle jellyfish in Whanganui waters recently and, if someone was stung, the best remedy was hot water.

“We’ve been putting people under a hot shower for 10-20 minutes to try to get rid of that sting.

“Not boiling water, obviously, but as much hot water as they can handle.”

Comp said the Wanganui Surf Lifeguard Service would host its junior surf carnival on January 19, with clubs from across the North Island coming to compete. Last year’s event was the first in Whanganui since 1979.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.