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Choosing a beach swim: flags, conditions and rip currents
Choose a lifeguarded swimming beach, understand red and yellow flags and learn Surf Life Saving NZ's advice for rip currents.
Choose a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flags. The flags mark the area the lifeguards have selected for swimming; they are a better starting point than following the busiest patch of water.
Check before entering
Look at current conditions and speak to the lifeguards if unsure. Keep young children within arm's reach in the water. If you are doubtful about the conditions or your ability, stay out. An apparently calm gap between breaking waves can be a rip, not a safe entry.
If caught in a rip
Surf Life Saving New Zealand's advice is to relax and float, raise a hand for help and ride the rip rather than fighting the current. Concentrate on keeping yourself afloat and being seen. Rips carry water away from shore; trying to swim hard directly against one can exhaust you.
Help without becoming another casualty
Alert the lifeguards immediately. If there are no lifeguards, call 111 and ask for Police. Do not rush into dangerous water to attempt an untrained rescue. Before a family beach visit, agree where you will swim and where you will meet on land. I would check the patrol and conditions before unpacking, so the group does not settle beside a tempting but unsuitable swimming spot.
Read next: Sun protection outdoors: UV, SPF and UPF explained.
Sources and photo credit
Information checked 29 September 2026.
Photo: Kgbo. Original photograph; CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized for web display.
