There has been a lot on the news here in the UK with videos of the loads of volunteers helping to keep the pilot whales wet and then refloat them when the tide comes in, they also form a human chain in the water to help prevent the whales from coming back in. The BBC had a whale and dolphin expert on explaining that this area of the North Island is problematic for the animals echo location in that there is nothing to reflect the signal sent out and the animals think they can head into open water and end up beached. As an aside these are not really whales but a species of dolphin.
Stuart