A wave for Wellington

CRAIG SIMCOX/The Dominion Post

OUT TO PLAY: A pod of killer whales cruising around Wellington Harbour brought crowds of spectators to the city's shorelines.

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A pod of killer whales cruising around Wellington Harbour brought crowds of spectators to the city's shorelines.

The pod of up to 12 orcas, including juveniles, females and several large males, spent much of yesterday inside the harbour before heading for the seal colony at Red Rocks in the hope of a late lunch.

They were first spotted around Matiu/Somes Island in the morning and moved majestically past Breaker Bay and Lyall Bay, reaching Island Bay about 2.30pm.

Onlookers saw them jump from the water, surf along the breakers and venture within a few metres of the shore.

Rebecca Rose and husband Matt Chamberlain spotted the pod in Lyall Bay and raced to collect children Will, 9, Tom, 7, and Lucy, 4, from school and preschool.

Ms Rose said she had never seen them run so fast when they learned there were killer whales to be seen.

But when they got to the bay and were told the whales had gone, "the kids' faces just dropped and they started to cry".

The family drove off-road to Red Rocks, getting there just in time to see the pod arrive.

"It made their day. Three of the pod came in surfing straight into the beach. They were just planing through the water."