• Traci Te Paa drowned after saving her daughter and nephew from a rip at Waimamaku Beach.
• Te Paa, visiting from Wellington, was unable to be revived despite CPR efforts.
• Friend Rena Hartley-Stretch described Te Paa as a hero with an awesome heart.

A mum who drowned after saving her daughter and nephew from a rip at a remote Northland beach has died a hero, her close friend says.

Emergency services rushed to Waimamaku Beach in the Far North District about 1.20pm on Christmas Eve after reports of a water-related incident.

Traci Te Paa, 37, was brought to shore where CPR was performed but she was unable to be revived.

Close friend Rena Hartley-Stretch told the Herald Te Paa had travelled from Wellington to spend Christmas with family.

Mother of three Traci Te Paa drowned at Waimamaku Beach in Northland on Christmas Eve. Photo / Facebook

On Christmas Eve, Te Paa’s daughter and nephew got stuck in a rip, Hartley-Stretch said.

“She wouldn’t have even thought twice. She would have just jumped in to save them.

“She wouldn’t have even hesitated, just like any mum would. She would have just gone with her first instinct.”

Hartley-Stretch said she was still in shock after the death of her beautiful friend.

Traci Te Paa has been described as a wahine toa. Photo / Supplied

She dropped to the ground when she discovered what had happened.

“I was about to have a panic attack, an anxiety attack, I don’t know.

“The feeling is just so surreal... it’s heart breaking.”

A mum of three children, Te Paa was outgoing and confident, Hartley-Stretch said.

“She just had an awesome heart and she was always there.”

Traci Te Paa “had an awesome heart and she was always there”, says a friend.

The pair had been friends for more than 20 years after attending Saint Joseph’s Maori Girls' College together.

“We’ve gone through a lot, but she was just a strong woman. She was wahine toa strong.”

Waimamaku Beach is a dangerous, sandy surf beach, south of the entrance to the Hokianga Harbour on Northland's west coast.

Hartley-Stretch was unsure how familiar Te Paa would have been with Waimamaku Beach because she had spent most of her life living elsewhere.

But Te Paa was strong and confident around water, she said. The two friends often took their children to beaches in Wellington including at Titahi Bay and Petone.

Te Paa will be brought to Te Whakamaharatanga Marae on Saturday before a nehu (burial) on Monday.

“She passed being a hero,” Hartley-Stretch said.

“She’ll be happy that she saved them.”

Te Whakamaharatanga Marae posted about the drowning on its Facebook page.

Te Paa was “one of our own”, the post said.

A rāhui at the beach was in place from Tuesday to Thursday morning.

One Kiwi drowns every three days over summer

Water Safety New Zealand has reported an average of one New Zealander drowns every three days during summer.

During the brief official holiday period, an average of eight people drown.

RNZ earlier reported the year’s provisional tally of fatal drownings was at 61 deaths at the start of December - 26% lower for that time of year, based on the 10-year average.

But after four water-related deaths within 24 hours earlier this month, Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Daniel Gerrard told RNZ the rise in deaths was a worry.

“We were tracking well below the 10-year average, up until about a week ago, and, clearly now, things are starting to track back to what is our normal in New Zealand.

“Once again, an incredibly tragic weekend,” Gerrard said at the time.

“Our predictive modelling did suggest that we would unfortunately end up closer to 70, which now appears to be close.

“And we’ve still got a couple of long summer weeks to go, before the end of the year.”

Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Daniel Gerrard says the rise in drowning deaths is a worry.

There were 94 drowning deaths in 2022 – the largest loss of life in New Zealand waterways from the past decade, and a figure that Gerrard described at the time as a “national disaster”. The year showed a spike in drownings particularly in men over 55 years old, and 85% of those who drowned in 2022 were male.

Last year there were 90 preventable drownings, including six deaths connected to Cyclone Gabrielle. Of the 2023 tally, 83% were male.

To keep safe, Water Safety New Zealand advises to expect the unexpected as coastlines can be more dangerous than they appear.

Kiwis should remember that drowning can happen to anyone in everyday conditions and people should not fall into the trap of thinking it won’t happen to me, the organisation has advised.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.