Royal Albatross Centre operations manager Chris McCormack said he saw the humpback swimming between Taiaroa Head and the Aramoana mole about 10am yesterday.
The solitary cetacean was "about the size of a campervan" and about 100m offshore when he captured it on camera.
Mr McCormack said sightings of whales, including humpbacks and southern right whales, had increased in the past few years, and he had seen two whales while kayaking last weekend.
"You do see more and more and it’s fantastic."
He believed the whale had come into the harbour entrance for a rest on its way south to the Auckland Islands.
As for how the whale compared to its counterpart delighting the capital, Mr McCormack said the Otago whale was "bigger and better".
It was last seen heading south, about 300m off shore.
Humpback facts
Length: 11.5m-15m (adult) 4m-5m (juvenile)
Weight: 25-30 tonnes.
Description: Humpbacks have a small dorsal fin with a distinctive hump at its front, knobbly protuberances on their head, tip of lower jaw and leading edge of their extremely long flippers.
Activity: Travel mainly along the South Island’s east coast and through Cook Strait during winter, returning along the west coast in spring. Migrate between high-latitude summer feeding grounds and low-latitude winter breeding and calving grounds.
Diet: Baleen feeders with a diet including krill and small fish like mackerel and herring. According to Doc they "show the most diverse feeding techniques of all baleen whales, including lunging through patches of prey, stunning prey with their flippers and forming ‘bubble-nets’."
Rules: Maintain a distance of 50m at all times from whales. Approach whales from the side and slightly to the rear. Stay in your boat — swimming with wales is not permitted.
Famous for: Their spectacular breaching and beautiful, complex songs. Conservation status: "Least concern".
Worldwide population: At least 80,000.
Source: Department of Conservation, ICUN.
