A pair of orca paid a New Year's Eve visit to holiday hotspot Mount Maunganui this morning.
What appeared to be a mother and calf were spotted hunting stingray close to the shore in Pilot Bay, a popular spot for swimmers and kayakers.
Tauranga resident Ali Holmes-Sciascia and her daughter Rosie Laurenson were setting off from Pilot Bay on their walk around the Mauao base track about 8.45 when they spotted a small group of people, including two men in wetsuits, staring at the bay.
Splashing around in the shadows, mere metres from the shoreline, were the two orca.
Holmes-Sciascia said the larger orca was turning on her back and exposing her belly.
