Killer Waves

A New Zealand man spent one recent Saturday surfing alongside three orcas near a beach on the Taranaki coast, enjoying the perfect waves. Craig Hunter, who has been surfing off the North Island for more than forty years, was enjoying an evening along the Stent Road surf break, when he spotted one of the whales around 6:30. His response? “There was no way I wasn’t going in because the waves were too good,” Hunter told the NZPA, adding that he was too old to be bothered by the prospect of an attack. “It sort of gets you going a little wee bit. But it’s a really cool feeling,” said Hunter. The whale spent about half an hour swimming around the area fishing, a few hundred meters out to sea. At one point he swam by Hunter before leaving. According to Hunter they come around a few times in the summer, but not as often as they used to. Photographer Jane Dove Juneau spotted three whales, while Mr. Hunter said he must have been “too busy” surfing to notice the others.