Watch: Blue whale spotted on Akaroa cruise in first sighting since 2020

Passengers onboard an Akaroa dolphin spotting cruise were treated to a rare sight when a blue whale emerged from the water during a Friday morning trip.

Twenty-five passengers were aboard the Akaroa Dolphin cruise when the blue whale slowly emerged from the water as onlookers gasped.

The sighting was captured on video by an onlooker and marked the first blue whale seen by Akaroa Dolphins since 2020.

An onboard staff member can be heard pointing out not only the blue whale, but also a nearby seal.

Akaroa Dolphins owner George Waghorn, who has been an operator for nearly 10 years, said the whale was spotted during the first sail of the day.

“We had word from another operator that there was a humpback whale just at the harbour entrance,” Waghorn said.

Passengers were stunned at the rare blue whale sighting. Photo / Sinclair Lannucci

However, by the time Akaroa Dolphins arrived at the harbour entrance, the whale had moved north.

But Waghorn said this didn’t mean giving up their chances of such a rare sighting.

“We just went up north and we found a big pod of dolphins,” Waghorn said.

But what was originally thought to be a humpback whale turned out to be a much rarer sighting.

“Right next to that, popped up this huge blue whale,” Waghorn said.

“I was like, hold on guys, this is not a humpback – we have to get a bit of identification on this guy!

“It was huge, probably twice the size of the 15m catamaran, at least.

“It’s pretty amazing. I didn’t even get my camera out; I was just taking it all in.”

Waghorn said this was only the second time passengers had the chance to spot a whale while on a cruise since his parents opened Akaroa Dolphins 21 years ago.

“For the passengers to get it on a scheduled cruise, it’s pretty cool!” he said.

He said staff had also been looking out for Migaloo, an all-white breed of humpback whale.

He said many passengers asked, “Is that the white [whale]?” after footage was shared on social media of an albino humpback whale surfacing south of Kaikōura on October 10.

Migaloo translates as “white fella” in the Mayi-Katuna Aboriginal language from north Queensland, as he was first sighted in 1991 off the coast of Byron Bay.

However, he has not been spotted around Australia since 2020.

He was first seen here in 2015 and is known to travel in New Zealand waters – with gaps in sighting history.

Waghorn said while “whales are starting to become a thing of the area”, it was a lucky sighting for everyone on board.