Auckland lifeguards are exhausted after a hectic weekend of rescues.
Muriwai lifeguards alone rescued 41 people and assisted a further 70 to shore over the weekend, leaving them physically exhausted.
Surf Life Saving Northern Region CEO Matt Williams says the work is taking its toll on the volunteers.
"They've worked hard, they've had more people using the beach and far more hours than normal," he says.
"Physically they've felt the toll. The volunteers were limping off the beach at the end of a very long weekend."
Mr Williams says central and local government need to recognise the hard work they're putting in.
"We're going to continue recruiting and training more lifeguards, as Auckland and the Northern Region need more patrol areas and longer patrol hours," he says.
"We need additional support to do that."
Elsewhere on the West Coast, Karekare lifeguards saw nine rescues and 30 assists, while Sunset had one rescue and nine assists.
Newshub.
