Watch: Family of orcas with calf in tow delight Marlborough Sounds boaties with 'amazing show'

A pod of orcas including a calf put on a show for boaties in the Marlborough Sounds as they swam in formation hunting fish.

Keen boatie Vicky Wiblin filmed the group of six orcas, including a smaller calf, in the waters off Hakana Bay, Port Underwood.

She had spotted the pod from a distance earlier but when she was on her boat fishing later in the day they returned and put on “an amazing display”.

“We heard them earlier blowing off and it sounded like gunshots and we guessed they were hunting stingrays because they were splashing around,” she said.

Boatie Vicky Wiblin captured the orcas as they swam passed her boat in Hakana Bay, Port Underwood, in the Marlborough Sounds.

“Then later we went out for a fish when the sun came out and they started coming toward us.”

With her camera out Wiblin said she captured the “amazing sight” of the family of orcas swimming in a perfect arc alongside the boat.

The footage shows the orcas swimming with just their fins out before coming out of the water, revealing their distinctive black and white colouring as they pass the boat.

“It blew me away, it was really one of those bucket-list moments and so amazing to see.”

Wiblin admitted there was a bit of panic when she spotted a young seal sunbathing in the water near the shore as the orcas approached.

“I was worried about the seal and what might happen there and what we might see but fortunately they didn’t show any interest in it.

“They went past, and it made everyone’s day, it blew my mind.”

Orcas are often spotted by boaties and those on the shore and are usually in pods of five or six.

Last year, Auckland fisherman David Laumatia revealed his “close call” with a pod as they swam and dived around him for about an hour as he fished off his jetski in the harbour.

At the time Laumatia said he was “elated and scared” by the encounter knowing the powerful animals could have easily tipped him off his jetski if they had accidentally bumped him.

Orcas are largest member of the dolphin family and are very intelligent and social animals. They live in maternal groups and hunt together rounding up fish or foraging for salmon, tuna, stingrays, and sharks.

There are estimated to be up to 200 orcas in New Zealand waters.

According to the Department of Conservation, here are the things you should do around an orca in New Zealand:

• Keep your distance: Stay at least 50m away from an orca, and 200m away from a mother and calf.
• Avoid approaching: Don’t circle, obstruct, or cut through the orca’s path.
• Slow down: Travel at no-wake speed or idle.
• Don’t swim: Swimming with orcas is not permitted.
• Report sightings: Call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) or fill out an online form.
• Keep aircraft away: Maintain a distance of at least 150m from an orca, and don’t fly directly overhead.
• Dispose of rubbish carefully: Plastic waste can be especially hazardous near waterways or beaches.
• Respect the Marine Mammal Protection Act 1978: It’s an offence to harass, disturb, injure, or kill a marine mammal.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.