About 70 people braved the elements to dig in the sand for prizes.
The fundraiser was the biggest event of the year for the South Catlins Charitable Trust, which usually attracts hundreds of people to the beach. This year’s event was moved to a slightly less damp Sunday after being postponed on Saturday.
Trust chairman Paul Duffy said the turnout was, ‘"as good as we could hope for with the weather".
This year, there were three entries in the sand-sculpting competition and the winning design was an equine of the magical kind — the Brinkworths from Tussock Creek constructed a unicorn, which was accompanied by a foal version of the fantasy beast.
Zoe Brinkworth was excited by the fact she could sit on her creation and was confident they would win.
About 180 cotton reels were buried in the sand, each indicating a prize to be collected by the lucky diggers.
Trust member Christine Crosbie said prizes for the dig had been donated and people came from near and far to attend the event each year.
She said while many locals took part, lots of visitors from the nearby campsite joined in.
The trust was formed in 2002 to conserve and protect the area, and has worked on the reforestation of the Living Forest, development of walkways and restoration of the endangered yellow-eyed penguin habitat.
She said $766 was raised from the event.
