The red algae I reported a couple of months ago turned into a bloom. It can look really impressive in the waves as they break on the bar but it is hard to capture in a photograph.

Surfers say it is strange but does not interfere with their surfing although it gets inside their wetsuits. It does not seem to cause irritation. These are some of the photographs I have taken over the last few weeks. It appears to be reducing and it seems that this is coinciding with the cooling of the weather. @kaytee

EDIT: Have heard back from kaytee at NIWA, a visiting expert and DNA testing have identified the algae. It is a first recording in New Zealand