Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Super sunshine Saturday draws Aucklanders to beaches

A drone captured the scene at Kawakawa Bay boat ramp in Auckland today. Photo / Supplied

It's not just a Super Saturday at vaccination centres and pop-up jab sites; sun-seeking Aucklanders have flocked to beaches across the city today.

One Aucklander who went to popular Auckland beach Tāwharanui for a picnic said they'd never seen it as busy.

"Oh my god I've never seen more people here - it's like Bondi."

It was a perfect spring day in the city today, with blue skies, little wind and a high of 19C.

Another beachgoer, this time at Long Bay on Auckland's northeastern coast, said it was really crowded there, too.

And one tweeted of their parking predicament in Auckland "at level 3 corona lockdown on a sunny Saturday".

"I drove by six beaches and couldn't find a carpark."

A photo taken from a drone above Kawakawa Bay boat ramp in southeast Auckland showed queues of boats lined up on a busy Saturday.

Long Bay in Auckland was popular today. Photo / Supplied

However, police didn't have any concerns.

Under Auckland's current Covid-19 restrictions - step 1 of alert level 3 - people are allowed to go to the beach and join another bubble outdoors, to a maximum of two households and 10 people.

People are "strongly encouraged" to wear a face covering and keep 2m apart from the other household.

Boating and sailing are also allowed, but should be limited to people from the same household.

Other recreational activities including golf, hunting, scuba diving, jetskiing and recreational flying are okay, too.

A drone captured the scene at Kawakawa Bay boat ramp in Auckland today. Photo / Supplied

The Herald contacted police for comment on Aucklanders' alert level compliance today, but police responded only by sending the most recent compliance figures update.

Under this outbreak's level 3, by 5pm Thursday 21 people had been charged with a total of 22 offences in Tāmaki Makaurau, Northland and parts of Waikato.

Seventeen were for failing to comply with the Covid-19 order, two for failure to comply with direction, prohibition or restriction, two for assaulting, threatening, hindering or obstructing an enforcement officer, and one was a Health Act breach.

Another 26 people have been formally warned.

Police have received a total of 3883 breach notifications relating to businesses, mass gatherings or people in the three areas currently under level 3.

The weather was settled across the country today, with dry conditions everywhere and lots of sunshine in the North Island, according to MetService.

Temperatures ranged from the upper teens in the east and northern North Island to mid-teens in much of the rest of the country. Gisborne was expected to reach 20C this afternoon, with the West Coast's Franz Josef a brisk 12C.

Blue skies turn to grey for many tomorrow, however.

Sunday will be a degree warmer in Auckland, but drizzle is expected to develop in the afternoon and turn to rain, possibly heavy, in the evening.

Heavy rain warnings are in place through most of the top of the South Island, the West Coast, Fiordland and the headwaters of Canterbury lakes and rivers about and south of Arthur's Pass.

Strong wind warnings have also been issued for Wellington, parts of Wairarapa and the Marlborough Sounds through tomorrow and into early Monday morning.