Ten people drowned over the official Christmas-New Year holiday period - the highest toll in four years.
Figures released yesterday by Water Safety New Zealand show there were eight recreational drownings and two non-recreational.
Eleven drownings were recorded over the same period in 2003-04. The average number ofholiday period drownings over the last five years was six.
The official Water Safety New Zealand holiday period began at 4pm on Christmas Eve and finished at 6am yesterday, mirroring the police official holiday road toll period.
Water Safety NZ general manager Matt Claridge said it was disappointing the holiday toll averaged more than one a day, "but the reality is that this time of year is when New Zealanders are more likely to drown".
He said the fact that 80 per cent of the latest drownings were recreation-based was not surprising "given the nature of holidays and increases in aquatic-based recreational activity".
"Many of the victims appear to have been on holiday and ventured into aquatic environments they have little knowledge of [or] the inherent risks associated with it," Mr Claridge said.
"We are fortunate not to be counting the cost of another handful of fatalities given the number of near misses and close calls, in particular those where multiple potential victims have had to be rescued."
Several major rescues had fortunately resulted in only minor injuries.
Mr Claridge said the large proportion of Pacific Island and Maori drowning deaths highlighted the importance of specific strategies for each of these ethnic groups and the need to ensure communities received adequate and appropriate water safety education through a variety of channels.
"The low holiday period toll of two from last year and the record low annual toll for 2006 are well behind us as we consider the ongoing need for New Zealanders to possess water safety skills, most specifically the ability to swim and survive," he said.
Eight men and two women made up the 10 drownings recorded. Four of the victims were Pacific Islanders, three were Maori and three were European.
Three people drowned in rivers, three within a kilometre of shore, one was in a lake, one in a home pool, one in a public pool and one more than 5km offshore.
Four of the drownings involved swimming activities, two were taking part in scuba diving, two involved powerboating and two were from "accidental immersion".
