One Tauranga family has been treated to a rare sight after seeing some orca playing the shallows on Omanu Beach.
Barbara Young was with her family when they saw the orca on Sunday afternoon.
Photos sent to SunLive show the orca swimming in the break waves near the shoreline of the Tauranga beach.
Young said she has lived in the Mount for 18 years and had heard lots of stories about orca sightings, but had never actually seen any herself.
She said it was “so very thrilling, but also a bit nerve-wracking watching the whales approaching surfer”.