(from Left) Catherine Landers, Jeramiah Graham (6)
Patea and Waverley pools are open between noon and 7pm during the school holidays, weekends and public holidays.
During term time the pools were open from 3.30pm to 7pm during the school week.
On duty at the Patea pool is young life guard Catherine Landers, who lives just outside Hawera.
Catherine said when she was at college in New Plymouth she had been swimming competitively for years and had always loved it.
Becoming a life guard was a natural progression, she said.
Catherine is living in Christchurch and studying criminal justice at Canterbury University.
With her final year to go she hopes to work in Immigration, she said.
"I'm in holiday mode right now and I love working at the Patea Pool. But when I get back to Christchurch in February I'll straight into swimming at the main pool again.''
For Catherine, Christmas Day with a delicious dinner and presents will be on Wednesday, January 3 this year.
"My Dad works on an oil rig so we always have to wait until he can get off and come home.
"It's okay though, we always have a great time. It's worth waiting for."
“Relying on overseas doctors to fill our rural workforce gaps is not sustainable."