FAREWELL SPIT, New Zealand (CNN) -- Holiday campers and picnickers joined conservation officials in New Zealand for what turned into a marathon rescue effort for a pod of beached whales.

The pod of 28 pilot whales was first stranded as the tide went out Wednesday at Farewell Spit, at the top end of New Zealand's South Island. Five whales died immediately.

About 55 volunteers, recruited from holiday makers in the area, pitched in with 10 staff members from the Department of Conservation in a rescue effort.

The rescue workers gently rocked and talked to the whales as the animals let out cries of distress in the shallow waters of a bay.

"We got out there and just tried to keep them upright and rock them so they could get their bearings again, and we just tried to lead them out to sea a little bit," said Michael Gunn, one of the volunteers.

"We were very lucky to have enough volunteers," said Greg Napp of the Department of Conservation. "There are a lot of people in the bay camping and holidaying."

Second beaching

The workers stuck with the task into the night, eventually getting most of the whales out to sea.

But at dawn on Thursday, the whales had beached themselves again and a second rescue was launched. Three more whales died, but the remaining 20 whales in the pod made it back out to sea.

"It's a really emotional high watching them swim away. It's one of the best feelings you'll ever have," Napp said.

By Thursday afternoon, the pod was 2.5 miles (four km) off the coast. Officials said they would continue to observe the animals for some time, to try to prevent a third beaching.

Reuters contributed to this report.