Two adults, two children and a dog had to be winched to safety by a rescue helicopter after becoming trapped by the incoming tide on rocks at a west Auckland beach.
Police say a passing vessel spotted the group in difficulties about 9:30am on Saturday morning at Cornwallis and alerted authorities.
Recue boats could not get in through a heavy swell but a helicopter was able to winch the group to safety one by one.
Ambulance staff treated one of the group for hypothermia and another for minor injuries.