A New Zealand distance swimmer is used to spotting seals, rays, and the occasional octopus. But Steve Morris said he felt “a rush of euphoria” Monday during a face-to-face encounter with large orcas.
“Yes, we were face to face, and they were ‘speaking’ to me,” Morris told For The Win Outdoors.
The Tauranga resident was with others from the Ocean Swim Squad off Mount Maunganui when a pod of eight orcas was spotted nearby. Two of the killer whales swam directly toward Morris, who carries a GoPro stuffed in his wetsuit during his swims.
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“I first saw orcas from a distance while swimming four years ago,” he said. “Since then I dreamed of an encounter like [Monday].”
He told the New Zealand Herald that it was “the best day of my life.”
Morris posted two video clips and several images to Facebook along with the description: “Look who decided to join us for a lap of The Mount this morning!”
Orca vocalizations can be heard in one of the video clips.
The mammals belong to a pod that frequents the region, including a male orca nicknamed Funky Monkey.
“Obviously you are not allowed to swim with orca whales on purpose, but they came up to us,” Morris told the New Zealand NewsHub.
–Images courtesy of Steve Morris