Hundreds of people loaded the car, slapped on some sunscreen and enjoyed a day of surfing, music and other activities at the Kakanui Big Beach Day on Saturday.
The day out at Campbells Bay featured beach-style competitions, including a beach dig and sandcastle building, and a variety of stalls selling everything from food and drinks to crafts.
But the sea and sand were the main attractions, especially for families, who enjoyed the warm temperatures.
About 90 surfers competed in the open, U18, U16, U14, women's and longboard divisions of the surfing competition.
Kakanui School principal Ann Roughan said the support for the event had been ''overwhelming''.
''It was extremely successful; certainly, having a beautiful day helped.''
''The generosity of the community was amazing.''
The beach day has become the school's major fundraising event each year.
More than 300 sausages and 9kg of bacon had been cooked and sold by a school stall by 1pm.
Scotts Brewing Co offered to give 100% of their beer tent sales to the school.
All money raised would go towards
playground upgrades, buying tablet computers and creating a more modern learning environment in the school, Ms Roughan said.
In the past year, the Kakanui School's roll has risen from 15 pupils to 26.
