Max, 13, was at home on his laptop, which Steve said he was reluctant to leave. However, by the end of the ordeal, he was "buzzing".
Orca Research Trust scientist Dr Ingrid Visser had just arrived at the scene, along with two volunteers, when Steve returned with Max. She invited them to pull up quietly alongside, before handing Max a bucket.
After a callout from members of the public, Visser and two volunteers had been observing the group of orca, which she said was an extended family of eight.
Within this group were the well-known character Funky Monkey, his sister Pickle, their sibling (gender unidentified) Pumpkin, and their unnamed mother.
"We watched as they attempted to pass over a shallow sandbank into deeper water. As they were swimming in the progressively shallower water, the larger size of Funky Monkey prevented him from continuing and he became stranded," Visser said.
Visser estimates Funky Monkey to be aged around 30 and said his size of around 5.5m puts him up there with the largest of the New Zealand orca which can grow as long as 6.5m.
"We watched as he ground to a halt in the shallow water. At one point, early in the event, his family circled him, but then they continued on over the sandbank, waiting for him in slightly deeper water."
Visser, along with the volunteers and Max, waded over to the orca and ensured he remained wet using a collapsible bucket to tip water over him.
She said, having tracked Funky Monkey throughout his life, he recognised her boat and was probably also familiar with the sound of her voice.
Visser believes this incident wasn't Funky Monkey's first stranding and decided he would be more "a veteran of this scenario".
"Based on his behaviour I'd say he has done this before – it wasn't his first rodeo."
His "cool, calm and collected" demeanour was calculated with Funky Monkey waiting 10 minutes between trying various tactics to free himself, she said.
While it is the first time Visser has seen Funky Monkey stranded for this long, she said it is likely he has taken part in "practice strandings" she has witnessed at Hokianga.
Funky Monkey, with his distinctive fin, was stranded on the sandbank for about 30 minutes.
"During the whole process he appeared very calm and he seemed to just calmly stop and then patiently wait for the tide to come in," she said.
"Luckily, the tide was coming in and he kept rolling slightly to see if he could get off the bottom, but there just wasn't enough water. After about 30 minutes, Funky Monkey's mother and youngest sibling (Pickle) came over to check on him.
"That seemed to be enough incentive to inspire him to give it a go at swimming off. Within just a few minutes of their arrival, he was powering away, using his tail in a steady but strong beat and making lots of splashes as he slowly began to move forward. Then his momentum increased and so did his efforts until suddenly he was off the bottom and in deeper water. He turned and swam parallel to the sandbank and headed up the harbour to join his family, including Pickle."
Steve was left amazed by the half-hour ordeal.
"I was impressed by the sheer force – you could just feel it. They just have amazing power," he said of the process of Funky Monkey freeing himself.
"It was amazing how calm he stayed. You could hear them clicking to each other," he said, adding that, while he believes he's spotted Funky Monkey before, due to his distinctive fin, this was his first up-close encounter.
Following his release, Visser and the volunteers followed along behind for a while to check the orca was unharmed.
"He showed just how okay he was as, within an hour of him swimming free, we documented that he had successfully captured a ray and shared it with the group," she said.
"Cold and wet, but very elated, we left them as they headed up the harbour and, as we were driving home, we heard from folks who were watching them from their houses as the orca travelled up the harbour and even past the airport.
"He was certainly none the worse from his adventure."
Reotahi resident Max Tyson helps keep Funky Monkey hydrated. Photo / Steve Tyson
Meanwhile, Steve reckons Max's laptop was long forgotten.
"You could tell Max was quietly enthralled by it. It definitely left a lifetime memory – it certainly did for me. It was a good rush hour."
While Pickle and Pumpkin were named by schoolchildren, Funky Monkey gained his name from a researcher noting the distinctive "funky" divot in the side of his dorsal fin, likely caused by a boat strike in his earlier days.
Although Funky Monkey has been spotted as far south as the Marlborough Sounds and past Cape Reinga in the north, Visser says they are Northland-savvy mammals, believed to be because it is a good hunting ground for stingrays.
# If you see orca in New Zealand, call 0800 SEE ORCA (0800 733 6722).
