Dolphin watchers in the Bay of Plenty have been spoilt with some of the best encounters with baby dolphins anywhere in the world this summer, a local marine expert believes.
Dolphin Seafaris skipper Stuart Arnold said he had seen more dolphins and marine life this season than ever before.
"[On Thursday] we
had pods of dolphins around us as far as you could see - they were out there in hundreds, or possibly thousands.
"What makes the Bay of Plenty off Tauranga probably the most unique location anywhere in the world is we get maternity pods, which means we get lots of babies with them."
That leads to remarkable photo opportunities, such as the photo above taken by Mr Arnold near Matakana Island on Tuesday.
"The mothers bring them right over to the side of the boat.
"Baby dolphins three or four weeks old put on a show with their mothers - whatever the mothers do, the babies do the same thing.
"If the mother leaps out of the water, the baby leaps out. That's how I managed to get that shot."
And it's not just dolphins - Mr Arnold said marine life in general is abundant this summer in the Bay.
The skipper covers water from the northern harbour entry at Bowentown out to Mayor Island, and down to Plate Island off Maketu, and the far side of Motiti Island.
Mr Arnold has also captured a picture of the usually rare giant sunfish.
The creature is usually seen only five or six times a season but Mr Arnold is seeing up to six a day.
"We normally only see sunfish when there's lots of jellyfish around.
"There aren't many jellyfish out there this year, but the sunfish are here in huge numbers.
"A lot of divers travel to the water off Indonesia to see these huge animals but they can come to the Bay of Plenty and see them for a fraction of the cost.
"They are very docile creatures, you can drive the boat right up to them. It's pretty special."
On another outing, Mr Arnold saw eight blue sharks - which he said were harmless - within a 20-minute period.
He had no idea why this summer had seen an abundance of marine life.
