We asked people around the country to send us stories in their own words about what they have discovered along the coastline. Here is a selection in which the beachcomber has enjoyed a memorable experience.
What's your story?
Boys’ own adventure
In about 1978 Auckland boy Simon Smythe put a message in a bottle, and cast it into the sea at Titirangi beach. This drawing records the adventure.
After the storm
Eastbourne, on the eastern shore of Wellington Harbour, is relatively exposed to southerly storms, and large waves can sweep in through the harbour entrance. Maggie Rainey-Smith, whose son's dog Buster is shown here, wrote a poem about what she found after one storm.
A lucky friendship
After finding a message in a bottle at Ahipara in 1973, Mary Ujdur (right) met up with Kerry, and they have remained friends ever since.
At the cove
This beach on Auckland’s North Shore has proved fruitful for beachcomber Tricia Hollingum and her son Sam. Some beaches attract all manner of floating detritus, while others remain relatively clean.
A toast at sunset
In 1979 two friends walking around the south coast of Wellington found a rich array of flotsam and jetsam, including this large lump of polystyrene, which resembled a rock, and a whisky bottle with a bit left inside.
Give and take
Easy the dog, at Ōwhiro Bay, with Jane Poata Lummis’ son Clarence. Jane found more than nature’s wealth on this beach.