Ocean watchers revel in Hawke's Bay coast swells

Waves crash into an abandoned bach at Haumoana on Monday. Photo / Peak Video

Sea swells that hammered parts of the Hawke's Bay coast over the past few days were almost as bad as those of the king tides familiar to ocean watchers in the area in February each year.

The swells dealt moderate waves crashing on to Napier's Pacific Beach, rolling waves nearing the foreshore at Waimarama, and breakers at the regular targets of seafront Haumoana and Te Awanga on Monday and Tuesday.

Both the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and MetService said there had been no coastal sea warnings for Hawke's Bay, warnings that had been issued being for the Northland to East Cape coastline.

The swell receding on the Napier beachfront yesterday was not expected to pose any risk to the rapidly-developing Art Deco week campervan and motorhome village on the Marine Parade reserve.

The Hastings District Council, which has been involved in a $2.8 million seawall project at Clifton to protect properties and road rebuilding, had had no issues reported.

The swells hit Haumoana hard as usual. Photo / Peak Video

Napier City Council events manager Kevin Murphy found a spot of holidaying at Waimarama a bit disconcerting as the swell washed well up the beach and rocks about high tide late on Monday morning, near the rented bach where he was staying.

He waited for worse on the next high tide but said that while there "almost didn't seem to be a low tide" the tide had earlier reached its peak.

"It was a decent swell," he said, after posting on Facebook about a "pretty crazy high tide".

The beachfront in Napier was expected to be just about the perfect place to be over the next few days with temperatures expected around 30 degrees Celsius, dropping on Saturday with some possible showers before what is expected to a more than pleasant Sunday climax for the thousands of visitors in the city.