Surf lifeguards across the country responded to a busy summer weekend, with particularly high beach numbers across Auckland regional beaches as families and holidaymakers made the most of the final days before the return to school today.

In the Northern Region, beaches across Auckland saw significant crowds on Saturday, with peak headcounts of 2,600 at Takapuna, 1,600 at Omaha and 950 at Long Bay. Tay Street in Mount Maunganui was also busy, reaching a peak head count of 1,850.

Lifeguards were kept especially busy in the Waikato, with Raglan recording 23 rescues, two assists and two first aids over the day. Sunset Beach at Port Waikato also saw five rescues, while Bethells Beach in Auckland recorded a further three rescues.

Further south in the Central Region, surf lifeguards at Foxton responded to a serious incident on Saturday, rescuing two people from the water. One patient required further medical care and was monitored by surf lifeguards until ambulance staff arrived, before being transported to hospital by rescue helicopter.

In the Eastern Region, lifeguards at Mount Maunganui treated a man on Sunday afternoon who sustained a deep surfboard fin injury to his foot. Lifeguards applied a tourniquet and bandaged the wound before handing the patient over to ambulance staff for transport to hospital.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand reminds beachgoers that conditions can change quickly and encourages everyone to swim at patrolled beaches and between the red and yellow flags. Beach conditions and patrol information are available via the Safe Swim website and app.

Beachgoers can use Safe Swim to check conditions, and to confirm whether a beach is patrolled by surf lifeguards.