Surf lifesavers are reporting a lot smaller surf today, with less people on the beaches as holiday-makers head back home. But they're still urging remaining beach-goers to watch for rips.

Mount Main Beach. Photo: file.

Omanu's director of lifesaving Dennis Mundy says while the surf is certainly a lot smaller than what it has been in the last five days, rips are still working at Tay St, Omanu and Arataki beaches.

High tide was at 7am, with low tide expected at 1.26pm. This means there'll be a slight suck going out which he's urging people to be aware of, says Dennis, who notes trending issues have been the same all week due to the warm water.

Lifesavers are consistently herding people away from the rips and into the patrol flagged areas and Dennis says rips are the biggest beach trend.

'The major rips and ones of concern at the moment is the Tay St, which is just south of the Tay St tower. As the tide comes in that rip trends at about a 30degree angle off the beach.”

Dennis says Omanu is exactly the same.

'Down there it's still quite tricky and it can be in front of the car park, through to almost in front of the surf club. The trend on that one is a 30degree channel south.”

There's four rips at Arataki, says Dennis, who encourages people to wave a lifeguard down and ask them where the rips are.

According to Dennis, a rip is a body of water moving out to sea.

'It's manifested by water coming on to the beach having to go somewhere. It's natural that it's going to find a channel. Often where there's a depression or deep area along the beach it starts using that as a channel.”

So what should people be looking for in a rip? Dennis says the key is to have patience.

'Sit down for three or four minutes and have a look at the water, particularly the white water. 'Where's the white water going, once it's come to the beach, where does it go after that?

'What you'll find is that white water will move slightly along the beach and start moving outwards –there's the rip.”

He says parents need to be aware it's not the calm water their children should be swimming in. 'That's the rip.”

Instead, Dennis advises people swim in the nice, clear and even, white water.

Other trending issues causing lifeguards concern is people being unfamiliar with the brand new water craft and people surfing waves on boogie boards without the fins.

Lifesavers are seeing adults coming down with two more children and watching them in the water, or unsuspecting teenagers going for a dip then slipping off the side into a water hole and getting carried into a rip.

Dennis says the number of rescues in the last five days have reduced. He puts this down to people beginning to listen to lifeguards' safety advice.