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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
Alanna Tomazin

Watch angler's close encounter with killer whales near Swansea

The pod of Orcas were spotted off the Swansea coastline. Pictures supplied by Caleb Pritchard
Dogs enjoy the sun and sand at Horseshoe Beach.
Swimmers sunning themselves at the Newcastle ocean baths.
Enjoying the sunshine in Newcastle.
Fishing in the autumn sunshine.
The ocean baths were a hit in the autumn sun.
Dogs enjoy the sun and sand at Horseshoe Beach.

ONE angler has been making the most of the warm autumn temperatures and on the weekend he had the sight of a lifetime.

Caleb Pritchard spotted a pod of killer whales shortly after 1pm while fishing out of Swansea heads on Saturday, May 25.

He described the experience as nothing short of "incredible."

"They also had three baby orcas with them. It was definitely a first for me [seeing the whales]. I've been fishing since a very young age," he said.

Marine Mammal Sightings Australia posted to social media that possibly between 15 and 20 killer whales were sighted south of Newcastle.

"The pod was travelling north with possibly two calves sighted within the pod," they reported.

As well as killer whales, the humpback highway has begun along the Hunter coastline with a few humpback whales spotted heading north to give birth.

With more warm weather predicted for the Hunter this week, there's been plenty of Novocastrians eager to get out and enjoy the summer-like temperatures.

Patchy fog unveiled a seasonally warm autumn Monday with the warmest temperature - 20.1 degrees - recorded at Nobbys weather station just before 11.30am.

The coolest temperature was recorded at about 7am just slowly reaching double digits at 11.1 degrees.

Swimmers could be seen sunning themselves on the walls of the Newcastle ocean baths, and even four-legged friends got out for a splash at Horseshoe Beach.

A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said fog is predicted to continue over Tuesday and Wednesday with warm daytime temperatures and cooler nights.

"We'll see morning fog both in the Lower and Upper Hunter and that's what we saw on Monday morning around Williamtown and Scone. It's cooling during the night-time with clear skies and moisture," they said.

"We expect daytime temperatures in Newcastle to reach about 21 degrees and 23 by Thursday, with similar temperatures in the Upper Hunter," they said.

A cold front system will develop towards the end of the week, bringing moisture from the Indian Ocean.

"We may see widespread showers or rain on the Friday into Saturday," they said.

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