Aspiring photographer Matt Hayes couldn't believe his luck when he took his new camera to the beach for the first time, just as a pod of orca made its way up the Blind Channel, at the end of Tahunanui Beach.
Matt, 17, of Nelson, said he was walking along the beach, planning to take photographs of kite surfers, when a woman told him that there were orca in the channel.
Most kite surfers left the water perhaps wary of the "killer whale" reputation of the mammals, but others remained in the water, with at least one kite surfer claiming he had almost hit one of them, Matt said.
He said the "pretty big" orca, of which there were at least three, had been going up and down the channel and, as he arrived, they started to make their way out to sea.
Matt snapped one photograph of a swimmer attempting to reach the orca on their way out of the channel but said the man did not make it to within 10 metres of the pod.
He said he got the camera for his birthday about two months ago but had been reluctant to take it to the beach until yesterday for fear of getting sand in it.
The Nelson College student was taking photography when he returned for Year 13 after the summer break.
When a pod of orca visited Nelson earlier this year, Department of Conservation marine specialist Andrew Baxter said they were frequent visitors to the region.
They were more commonly seen in the summer months from November onwards, but could be seen at any time of year.
About 200 orca were believed to live around New Zealand, with some coming to Nelson on a regular basis, Mr Baxter said. Orca could travel 100km to 150km a day.
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