While humans were stayed indoors out of the cold yesterday, orcas were enjoying a swim and a meal in the Bay the Islands.
Passengers who braved the cold on Fullers' Dolphin Seeker were rewarded by an encounter with a pod of eight to 10 orca off Paihia's Te Haumi flats about 9.45am.
Marine mammal guide Jo "Floppy" Halliday said the orca were in a strikingly laid-back, cruisy mood.
"They were just foraging around in the shallows for rays," she said.
The pod included a baby - or calf - with a distinctive lopped-off fin and what looked to be an "absolutely tiny" new calf, as well as well-known adult Funky Monkey and a large male known as Bullet.