Saturday was the start of the Aramoana League Incorporated’s annual holiday schedule, which as tradition dictates meant all the holidaymakers in the village headed to Shelly Beach for a sandcastle building competition.
Formerly an Aramoana resident, now an Aramoana "cribbie", Anita Johnston said she and her family had been taking part in the sandcastle competition for 20 years — and they won every year.
"Everybody’s a winner, so that must mean we are always the winners," she said.
The team, which included a large mob of her extended family, spent their breakfast brainstorming their strategy for how to create something "amazing" in the allotted hour. This year they decided on a classic castle.
"Shovels and rakes are key," she said.
Every family member "and one hired family member" from Wellington had a different section to build.
"One boy built the moat, one boy built the gate, one boy built the castle, and so on," she said.
As children, Ms Johnston and her siblings would take part, and the tradition has continued with the next generation of children.
"We made a teddy bear when my wee boy was younger — we’ve also made turtles, Christmas trees, shipwrecks, mermaids and leaping dolphins.
"One year we made a classic Kiwi caravan."
She said the competition must have been hard for the judges, with everyone being a winner and all.
This year, there were about six entries — "a bit quieter than previous years".
"Usually there’s about a dozen different sculptures ... there’s usually twice the number of sandcastles here."
The family planned to spend about two weeks this summer at their crib, but living close by in Dunedin meant they would be making the trip out countless times throughout 2026.
The sandcastle competition was the first event of the Aramoana League’s summer itinerary, which also include kite flying, a bingo night, a card night, a quiz night and a sports day.
The events will run until January 3.
