A man walking around the base track of Mauao yesterday is being praised for helping save a woman who almost drowned.

The man, whose identity is not known, jumped into the water to rescue a 41-year-old woman who had gone into the ocean to cool off on Sunday afternoon.

A 41-year-old woman was pulled from the ocean on the harbour side of Mauao.

Mount Maunganui St John ambulance staff say the 41-year-old woman was hypothermic on the beach when paramedics arrived.

A spokesperson says the woman would not be alive if it wasn't for the actions of the man.

'It was a near drowning,” says a St John spokesman.

'If it wasn't for this guy, we don't know who it is. Put it this way, when I arrived she wouldn't have been on the beach to help.”

The 41-year-old Mount Maunganui woman is believed to have become hot while walking the base track and walked into the sea on the harbour side to cool off.

She was fully clothed, got out of her depth, became cold, and was calling for help.

St John staff do not know who the rescuer was, but say people at the scene were aged from their late 30s to 50s.

'They are a little bit of a hero really. Jumping into the cold sea to pull someone out, not everybody would do that.

'This person was dressed in her clothes and as you know when someone struggling they can pull you under.

'When we arrived she had hypothermia and a bit of an altered level of consciousness.

The woman was taken to Tauranga Hospital where she was checked for fluid in her lungs, say St John.