A sight for sow eyes: Pig enjoys swim at Far North beach

It was a case of life's a beach for a hefty hog revelling in the surf on a popular stretch of Far North coastline last Wednesday.

A video of the pig in the waves at a spot on Ninety-Mile Beach, just south of Waipapakauri Ramp, was shared online by Kaitāia local Dan Lovell.

The seven-second footage shows the large black female pig slowly punching her way through the break as small waves continue to roll in.

Apparently, she had sauntered from the road, through the carpark and sand dunes at Waipapakauri and made her way down to the water.

Lovell said one of his employees captured the moment during a beach outing to search for mussel spats.

"They thought it was a dog swimming in the surf and slowed down."

Lo-and-behold, to their surprise it was a sow almost frolicking in the salty sea.

A still from the video of the pig enjoying the waves along Ninety-Mile Beach. Photo / supplied

Lovell said the pig appeared to be having "a ball of a time" playing in the waves.

"To see something like that is once in a lifetime," he said. "We've got 88km of our beach and then holy crap, there's a pig swimming it."

Lovell had shown a few people the video of the blissful pig - each viewing prompting a good laugh with a dose of shock.

A handful of locals stretched their funny bone online with comments such as "ready salted" and "that's my sort of seafood".

Lovell said every day on Ninety-Mile Beach was different - you could bump into or spot turtles, seals, and other marine life.

"Then there's ol' Mrs Pig who has gone out for a swim.

"From time to time we do see pigs on the beach, like wild ones, but to see one going out for a swim is pretty random."

After the video was posted to the Kaitāia community Facebook page, it was revealed the pig was owned by a man who lived just up the road from The Ramp.

Lovell had spoken to the man who said the sow had gone walkabout and he was still waiting for her to return home.

The sight of the hog enjoying the waves reminded Lovell, a pig hunter who has raised wild versions of the animal, just how incredible they were.