Pod of dolphins plays with holiday goers in Bay of Plenty in second sighting in two days

A group of boaters were treated to a dip with a friendly pod of 30 dolphins, the second encounter with the aquatic mammals in two days.

Mike Southward got more than he bargained for while out fishing off the Bay of Plenty on Monday.

He and about 10 other people were spearfishing for Kingfish at Nicki Island.

On their way back they stopped at Castle Island so the children on deck could do some swimming and look for fish.

Then "all of a sudden" a pod of 30 dolphins approached "chattering to themselves" and wanting to play.

His daughter, Ella, caught the action on camera.

"You could hear them talking, I reckon they were laughing at the humans because they had no tails."

The children could barely believe their eyes, he said.

"The kids were just about in tears, they were awestruck by the whole thing.

"The dolphins cruised over to the kids and would buck away at the last minute, there were a couple babies in the pod, and they were like little puppies."

After 10 minutes the dolphins and the swimmers parted ways so the group got back on the boat and headed back to the coast.

But surprisingly, the dolphins returned to escort them for a portion of the journey.

"The dolphins hung around the bow of the boat.

"It was quite an amazing experience; they seem to enjoy hanging around with the kids in the water."

The pod was so big it seemed like it was a family, he said.

In 45 years of boating he had never seen dolphins swim up to people so close while in the water, he said.

It folllows another encounter with the friendly creatures in just two days.

On Sunday a photographer was treated to some stunning subject material as he was lucky enough to capture a pod of dolphins only inches from his face while on his holiday.

Dion Mellow was swimming at Coopers Beach in Northland, with a group of 14 people when he spotted something really special.

While relaxing in the water, he spotted "some dolphins jumping at the break" and before he could blink "they were at the surge" right in front of him.