Pukehina Surf Rescue club hosts pro lifeguard from United Kingdom

George Hudson, 19, a professional lifeguard from Cornwall, is spending part of the summer with Pukehina Surf Rescue.

It's a long way from the beaches of north Cornwall to Pukehina, but there's not necessarily a world of difference between them.

George Hudson, 19, is a professional lifeguard from Perranporth who has spent much of this summer working at Pukehina Surf Rescue and also at Omanu Surf Lifesaving Club.

He says Pukehina Beach is just like a hot England.

"Nothing's really that different — there are probably less people than what I'm used to in England, probably because it's a bit out of the way."

There have been a few shark sightings off Pukehina Beach this summer but "nothing really major where we had to get people out of the water".

"It's the sea and that's where they live, there's nothing you can do about it."

Most of the work has been in preventative action and helping people at the bar when boats have got stuck at low tide.

It is Hudson's first time in New Zealand, although he has worked with New Zealand lifeguards before.

"When I first started lifeguarding in Cornwall, there were a couple of Kiwis from the Mount working on the beach I was at, and there have been a few more since."

One of them was Eastern Region lifeguard supervisor Jackson Edwards, who oversees the international lifeguard exchange in the area from Coromandel to Gisborne.

Edwards encouraged Hudson to try lifeguarding Downunder.

"I was thinking about what I was going to do in the winter, go on a surf trip or apply for here," says Hudson.

"One of my friends was going to apply, so I did as well."

There are eight international lifeguards in the region this summer. Some have been based in one spot all summer with others, like Hudson, moving between clubs. Hudson will head back to Omanu next week, but says he has had fun at Pukehina.

"I get on with the other lifeguards pretty well — we work pretty well together and they all know what they need to do."

An option for Kiwis

He says he would like to see some New Zealand lifeguards head in the opposite direction at the end of the southern summer.

"They are intrigued about what it's like and how it works over there."

One of the main differences between lifeguarding in the two countries is the funding, the service in the UK coming under the Royal National Lifeboat Association (RNLI).

"We have jet skis. All our equipment comes from the RNLI, where here it's from the club itself."

The core values and techniques, however, are the same.

It was natural for Hudson to become a lifeguard.

"Mum is into surf rowing and my stepdad was a lifeguard in the 1970s in Cornwall, so I was brought up around surf lifesaving and the sea and it's always just been an option for me. That and being a little grommo around the club, hanging out with lifeguards — it looked like the right path."

Edwards says the exchange programme benefits lifeguards on both sides of the world.

"New Zealand lifeguarding compared to English lifeguarding might be a little different and some things might work better than others so it's always better having a relationship where you have the opportunity to teach each other different skills.

"A lot of the time we try to have guards going back and forth because, if you are having people who are lifeguarding all year round, that experience is pretty invaluable."

He says in New Zealand lifeguarding is a summer job but in the UK it is a career as patrols are for up to eight months of the year.

"That was one of the interesting things about being in England — at Easter being on the beach and having to wear full wetsuit, hoodie, booties and everything," he says.

There are other benefits of having English lifeguards in New Zealand.

"One of the best things they do, they do bring a beautiful cup of tea to patrol."