A regular swim with some friends became 'a dream come true” for ocean swimmer Steve Morris, when he came face-to-face with a pod of orca.

Steve, who is a part of the Seamen Ocean Swim Squad was nearing the end of a daily swim around the base of Mauao last Monday, when he saw something that caught his eye.

'I was looking around for something interesting such as rays or octopuses when I saw a bunch of pretty big fins just on the inside of us,” he says.

'I was alone­­­ ­­– a bit further from the group, and that's when a couple came over to have a look at me.”

Steve is still 'pinching” himself considering the close encounter had been a dream of his since his first sighting of an orca in 2017.

The group was doing a similar swim four years ago when they spotted a large male orca about 100 meters away from them.

'The first time was quite a different encounter; we were all just freaking out and trying to get out of the water,” he says.

'That was before we educated ourselves and realised there was nothing to worry about.

'I was just amazed at how big it was. It was the first time I'd seen orca and I had been dreaming of it since.

'They were two very different experiences,” says Steve.

It is illegal to purposefully swim with orca and whales but there was nothing the swimmers could do in a situation such as this one.

Although Steve describes his experience with these creatures as 'euphoric” and 'surreal” he was disappointed to see that there were many small recreational boats chasing the orca.

'They were slapping their tales on the water which I understand is a sign of agitation and their way of telling the boats to back off,” he says.

'I think it is important to reiterate that it is illegal to approach orca or whales, but there is nothing you can do when you're sharing their environment, and they come up to you.”

Steve's footage of the encounter has escalated quickly and is now being shared all over the world, with media companies such as USA Today and Lad Bible covering the story.

It was also shared on Daily Mail with added music and subtitles.

'They added a horror soundtrack and stuff like that and changed it into a completely different vibe from the original video which was described by my flat mate as a peaceful and chilled encounter,” says Steve.