An Auckland man had a magical encounter with a pod of curious orca, after they swam towards him in shallow water on Saturday afternoon.
North Shore local Justin Serville, an ocean enthusiast, heard about a pod of orca swimming around Browns and Murray's Bay.
He went down to Thorne Bay Beach, near Milford, to see if he’d be able to catch a glimpse of the marine mammals as they passed by.
Serville hopped in the water, paddling out 20 metres, when two of the orcas “beelined it” straight towards him in the shallow water.
“The fin was just coming straight towards me,” he said.
Despite this, Serville said he wasn’t nervous.
As it came closer, he pressed record on his GoPro, filming it swim past – taking a curious look at him as it glided by.
“I was just buzzing. I was really nervous pressing record, hoping to get in the frame.
“And the shot was just amazing, getting it looking at me as it swims past and that beautiful beating tail as it swims away.”
As they swam away, Serville decided to follow the pod, watching them travel around the coast.
He followed them to Narrow Neck Beach, where the same orca once again came to check him out – this time only 15 metres away from the shore.
“They’re obviously very intelligent creatures.
“But I didn't have any fear – fear equals food, and love equals connection, I guess.”
He had just come off the buzz of swimming with dolphins days earlier when he captured the up-close video.
Last week, he heard about a pod of dolphins swimming around the Takapuna area, rushing to the beach to check them out.
Justin Serville had two encounters with dolphins, before he saw orcas up close. (Source: Supplied)
The marine mammals swam around him and other beachgoers close to the shore.
“It was just stunning, fantasy stuff,” he told 1News.
“It was sunny. There was a rainbow in the sky. The energy was amazing.”
The Department of Conservation (DOC) asks swimmers not to swim close to orcas, with a potential $10,000 fine if they’re caught getting too close.
It’s estimated there are around 150 to 200 orca in New Zealand waters, who forage the seafloor for salmon, tuna, herring, cod, sharks and rays, sometimes in shallow water.
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