PORT Macquarie-Hastings Council senior lifeguard Grant Hudson was full of praise for his colleagues and surf life savers after the flags came down at most of the region's beaches on Monday.
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It signals the end of the holiday season as children return to school, adults return to work and Port Macquarie does it's best to return to normal.
With the exception of weekends, only two beaches around Port Macquarie will remain patrolled - Town Beach and Flynn's Beach.
Mr Hudson said numbers of people on holidays had swelled the town's population and lifeguards had been kept busy throughout the whole season.
"It's been a bit of a strange summer," he said. "We had those two or three weeks of really busy conditions which coincided with Christmas and New Year, but unfortunately we had some really tricky conditions that went with it.
"We had an easterly swell and had a lot of strong currents and rips. Our rescues were up because sandbanks were constantly changing with the tides."
Mr Hudson said the size of the swell had also contributed to the increase in numbers of people getting into trouble.
"It wasn't big or small; most of the time it was about one to one and a half metres which meant people could push their limits," he said. "At that size, the waves have still got a fair bit of power behind them, but people don't realise that until they're out there."
Mr Hudson said overall he was very happy with the season and said it had given them an idea of what to expect for next season.