Thrilled onlookers could be seen running along the sand and over rocks as the whales cruised Wellington's south coast. Video / Michael Lanzensberger
The spectacle of nature has been captured in drone footage showing a pod of orcas hunting stingrays off Wellington’s south coast.
Drone owner Michael Lanzensberger spotted a calf, a juvenile and two adult orcas swimming close to the shore at Island Bay on Anzac Day.
From 150m up, his dronetrailed the pod after they’d earlier cruised from Lyall Bay to Princess Beach and on to Houghton Bay, where they were “mingling with surfers”.
“Then I thought they’d be going to Island Bay so I moved to Island Bay, put my drone up and was just waiting for them to arrive.
“Everything pretty much aligned because in that area I could fly as a shielded operation with the controlled airspace, and the weather was perfect – no wind. Everything came together.”
A pod of orcas delighted a drone operator and people on shore as they hunted for stingrays off Wellington's south coast at Island Bay on Anzac Day. Photo screengrab via video / Michael Lanzensberger
He was also thrilled by the public response, with people running along the beach or dashing across rocks as the orcas swam almost to the shoreline.
“It was a massive event. There were so many people following them from Lyall Bay all the way to Island Bay. It was just huge.”
With a music track, he’d overlaid the sound of the orcas captured on his wife’s smartphone with the drone footage, which has no sound, Lanzensberger said.
Drones can’t be flown any closer than 150m directly above marine mammals, according to the Department of Conservation.
As well as following the department’s rules, Lanzensberger also stuck to flying in an area that’s geographically “shielded” from Wellington Airport’s airspace, allowing him to launch his drone without a permit.
The orcas were seen from Lyall Bay to Island Bay along Wellington's south coast on Anzac Day. Photo screengrab via video / Michael Lanzensberger
In 13 years of capturing sea life from above, he said the footage was the best he’d got, prompting him to share it with the public.
“I’ve been waiting for [this] to happen. I’ve seen whales, but either they were at the wrong spot or I didn’t have the drone with me or the weather was wrong … but so many things came together on that particular day it finally worked out.
