The northern beaches were among many in the region to attract large crowds.

Some were happy to stroll along the water's edge, while others preferred a quick dip to recover from the previous night's festivities.

Coledale's Joel Forbes was one of those enjoying the scene at Austinmer Beach. "I spent last night at a mate's house with a pork roast on the spit," he said.

"It was a pretty good night so it's good to be down here today."

Fellow beachgoer Nicole Reay just wanted to enjoy time with the family after staying up late on New Year's Eve.

"We spent New Year's Eve at home on the verandah," Ms Reay said. "Luckily we could see the fireworks from there but we did stay up to watch the midnight ones."

North Wollongong Beach also attracted a large crowd.

Lifesaver Hugh Gagan said it was one of the busiest days he had patrolled this summer.

"There are a lot families here today, which is nice," Mr Gagan said. "We had a rescue earlier this morning, but otherwise we have been really lucky that the day has been incident-free."