Rotorua Lake safety signs translated

Regional council maritime officer Ross Powell with one of the new signs at Lake Okareka now readable in German and Mandarin. Photo / Ben Fraser

Warning signs at Rotorua lakes have been translated into German and Mandarin to ensure tourists and visitors know about danger spots in the lakes.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has had translations made of the English language danger signs warning of steep drop-offs at Lake Tarawera, and warnings not to swim within ski lanes at Lake Okareka and Lake Rotoma. German and Mandarin were chosen as the majority of visitors who prefer freedom camping use these languages.

Regional Council Maritime Officer Ross Powell said translating the signs would make it easier for non-English speaking visitors to understand dangers in the lakes - and hopefully save some lives.

"I spoke to tourism operators, and they advised us of what messages tourists would react to. As long as the message works and keeps more people safe, the translations will have been successful. We don't want any more drownings in our lakes," he said. "We also have a lot of freedom campers who have been swimming in the ski lanes, so it was necessary to tell people not to swim between the black and orange poles that indicate the ski lanes."

A Watersafe New Zealand study has found Asian nationalities were over-represented in drowning statistics, making up 12 per cent of the national drowning toll. Asian nationalities also often had limited knowledge or skill in water safety or small boat safety, the organisation said.

The new signs were erected last week.

The Bay of Plenty had the nation's worst drowning record this summer after eight people died in our waters, three in Rotorua lakes.

The region had the highest number of drownings in the country between December and February, followed by the Waikato where four people drowned.

In December, 40-year-old Auckland man Zoujie Cai and his daughter Zexuan Cai, 6, died after they fell out of a kayak on Lake Tarawera near Rotorua. While the daughter was wearing a life jacket, it was too big for her and slipped off.