Surf lifesavers are telling people not to get hung up on their favourite beach - and be prepared to ditch it for safety.
Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
This weekend patrols from Waikato north will begin working all week until the end of the peak summer season.
The Surf Life Saving northern region operations manager, Adam Wooler, said the unseasonably warm weather had meant surf lifesaving clubs had been busier than normal in the past few weeks but there had been no serious injuries.
He hoped people would remember to swim between the flags - and that they could also choose to avoid a beach altogether if the conditions weren't right.
"Eight percent of our rescues occur because of rip currents, and they're not easy to spot, a lot of people don't understand rip currents.
"So the safest thing is to one, swim between the flags or two, just find a beach that isn't so rough, isn't so dangerous."