Wind can’t keep people away

‘‘The kids still want to swim. They all wanted to come down yesterday and the beach was closed, it was howling.’’ Renee Cox

Even with howling winds and crashing waves, Manawatu beachgoers couldn’t be kept away from the surf for long.

After being closed on Tuesday due to windy conditions, Himatangi Beach was humming on Wednesday with people making the most of the sun while it was on offer.

Cara Mccully, 10, Kacey Mccully, 7, and Greta Cox, 9, said they enjoyed being at the beach and the wind didn’t bother them.

‘‘The big waves you can boogie board in,’’ Cara said.

Cara and her sister were up with their family from Wellington while Greta was with her family from Whanganui.

Sister Kacey said she also enjoyed playing in the waves and getting out on her boogie board, while Greta said she was enjoying the weather.

‘‘It’s warmer when you get in the water.’’

Renee Cox said she brought the girls to the beach as they had been wanting to come down as much as they could.

‘‘They have been desperate to come all day, so I thought I’d better take them.

‘‘We come down quite often, I love it here.’’

Cox said she lived in Whanganui and her dad had a bach at Himatangi, so they spent a lot of time at the beach over summer. ‘‘We come down here most years.’’

The weather was not as good as it normally was, but Cox said the kids still enjoyed it.

‘‘The kids still want to swim. They all wanted to come down yesterday and the beach was closed, it was howling.’’

But coming to Himatangi Beach was always good, no matter what the weather.

‘‘It’s close to home, everyone is friendly, there’s quite good facilities.’’

Lifeguard Hugh Dickson, 18, said this was his fifth season patrolling the beach and people had been well behaved.

‘‘The weather has not been perfect and the sea conditions have been a bit unpredictable, at low tide in particular.’’

Most people had been good at listening to the lifeguards on duty, although they still encountered those who refused to swim between the flags.

‘‘But most people are pretty good about it.’’

Dickson said channels and sandbars shifted and the changes created some challenges.

‘‘You can walk out a long way and be in shallow [water], then one step and it can be 10 metres over your head.’’

They had to rescue someone on Monday who had encountered almost that exact scenario.

‘‘Some people who went on the sandbar just drifted off the edge of it.’’

Lifeguards would be out at Himatangi Beach for the entire six weeks of the primary school holidays.