A pod of orca were spotted swimming in Otago Harbour near Port Chalmers this morning, delighting some, and scaring the living daylights out of others.
Port to Port ferry service and wildlife tour operator and owner Rachel McGregor said she got a text message saying there were orca in the harbour, and after collecting a group of friends, she took her boat out and found them near Goat Island.
She said there were two large males and about half a dozen females in the pod.
‘‘It was amazing.
‘‘We spent over an hour just watching them from a distance, and then all of a sudden they popped up right under the boat."
Ms McGregor said she had been on the harbour for about 17 years and had never seen a pod of orcas that far down the harbour.
‘‘They were in the shallows. We were wondering if they were looking for food. They were moving very, very slowly.’’
The pod headed for the open sea again about 11am, but provided one last surprise at Aramoana before they left.
‘‘They were right up against the sand spit at Aramoana.
‘‘The people that were standing there got a hell of a fright when they popped up a few metres away.’’
