New website flags best Bay beaches

Hawke's Bay lifeguards have taken to the region's beaches and those beaches have been added to a new website set up by Surf Life Saving New Zealand.

Patrols at Westshore, Pacific (Napier Beach), Ocean Beach and Waimarama got under way on November 11 and will continue patrolling the sand, shingle and surf until about Easter.

To accompany the patrols, the national surf life saving body has set up a website it says will make finding the "right beach" a whole lot easier.

"Find a Beach" is an interactive website that features up-to-the-minute information about weather conditions, swells and general hazards. It also features a rating system for activities like swimming, fishing and how "family-friendly" a beach is.

It even provides information for people who don't want to be caught short - showing whether a beach has toilets and changing facilities.

Six Bay beaches feature on the site with Waipatiki and Mahia joining the four currently now under weekend patrol.

Surf Life Saving chief executive Paul Dalton said launching the website alongside the start of the season's beach patrol was a deliberate move and added another dimension to the provision of lifeguards at the beaches. "It's all about protecting our community in the water."

See www.findabeach.co.nz