Nearly a week of constant crashing waves and a strong undertow has shifted sand but not caused erosion to the dunes and foreshore on Whangarei's east coast beaches.
The sand on beaches was already "steep" as a result of wind and surf conditions this winter.
Over the weekend, breaking surf was between three and five metres high, almost the size of that caused when Cyclone Pam's tail lashed Northland in March 2015.
Similar to during cyclonic events, the surf sets were breaking a long way out and becoming a fast-moving, churning wash of white closer to shore.
While the beaches were hammered, there were no reports of dunes being eroded, large quantities of sand scoured away or other damage.