A pod of orcas were spotted close to the Merimbula wharf on Monday afternoon, giving locals a rare display that left many feeling privileged to have witnessed the magnificent creatures.
Photographer David Rogers went out on a whale-watching vessel with Sapphire Coastal Adventures not long after an orca was sighted off Pambula Beach and captured some stunning shots, including the "Holy Grail of whale photography", a killer whale breaching.
The whales came into view as soon as the vessel crossed the Merimbula bar, with people standing on the wharf about to see the incredible creatures.
"I felt so privileged," Mr Rogers said.
"We had one, a big male, come straight at us from the side, not fast, but just swam up and turned his eye up to look at the boat.
"You could have reached out and touched him.
"I had my eyes focused down the lens and was just full of adrenalin."
The pod of eight orcas included one called Splitfin, because of its distinctive fin, which had also sighted off Eden in 2009.
In this latest sighting, the first orca was spotted off Pambula Beach on Monday afternoon, with a local alerting others on a community noticeboard.
When the sighting had been confirmed, Sapphire Coastal Adventures owner Jess Millar collected her sons, Mikah, 14, and James, 10, from school and had their whale-watching vessel out on the water by 3.45pm on Monday, spending a few magical hours with the whales.
Mrs Millar, who has owned the whale-watching business with husband Simon since 2008, said the boat had taken charters which had spotted orcas before, but Monday was her first time seeing them for herself.
"It was an amazing experience," she said.
"They're the apex predators of the ocean. Very sleek, very agile and quite beautiful. It took your breath away to see them."
The group was astounded to see the whales so close.
"My oldest son has seen orcas before, so he's very lucky, but it was the first time for my youngest son," Mrs Millar said.
"My younger son actually saw the whale breach and yelled out 'It breached!' and we all turned around and luckily it did it again and David captured that beautiful photograph."
Mrs Millar said her business in years past had traditionally focused on the southern migration of Humpback and Southern Right whales during August and September as the mammals fed in local waters.
But in more recent times, sightings of whales off the South Coast had also been more common during the northern migration, which started as early as May, with greater numbers of whales and favourable ocean currents putting them in plain sight.
"We've had a great northern migration," she said.
Mr Rogers, meanwhile, who is usually a landscape photographer but volunteers for Sapphire Coastal Adventures, is still coming down from the euphoria of the amazing encounter.
"I'm pretty exhausted. I took 2000 frames and was editing until 4.30 this morning," he said.
But he was happy to share his images and the joy they brought to people.
"It was a fantastic experience," he said.
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