About 15 of the estimated 123 pilot whales that stranded Tuesday had died before the pod was shepherded out to sea on the mid-afternoon high tide by Department of Conservation (DOC) staff and hundreds of volunteers.

But, after many of the volunteers had gone home, several of the whales were back in shallow water near Puponga Beach at Farewell Spit on the northwestern tip of the South Island,

"They're still floating but the tide's going out," DOC spokeswoman Trish Grant said.

"We've been quite hopeful that they were all going to go safely out to sea and we didn't have to worry about them again.

"It is a bit gutting really."

Grant said the rescuers would do what they could until nightfall, but it would be too dangerous to remain on the beach once it was dark.

Earlier, several foreign tourists from as far afield as China and Germany, broke from their holiday schedule to help locals cover the whales with wet sheets and blankets and pour water over them to try to keep them cool before the afternoon tide.

German backpacker Martin Huehmergarth said he was in a beach cafe looking at photos of whale strandings when, minutes later, the whales got stuck on shore.

"We were up to our hips in the sea bailing buckets of water, doing it for real. It is so sad to see them all," he said.

Japanese visitor Mieko Sato said she spent a couple of hours helping out, noting: "We want to do what we can."

If the whales -- some of which are five metres (more than 16 feet) long -- do become stranded again, conservation officials hope they will be able to refloat on their own at the next high tide in the early hours of Thursday morning.

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