Bid To Rescue Whale Stranded On Auckland Beach

It's not only alive, it's swimming to freedom.

The whale that stranded itself at Pt Chevalier in Auckland is now heading into the channel past Kauri Point and out to sea.

The female Antarctic Minke whale was in really good hands, said a Newstalk ZB caller who was following the whale out.

He said an expert dove under the water with the whale and she instantly got moving, responding to his touch.

The caller said the whale had been lying there doing nothing until then, and now she was powering out to sea.

Department of Conservation staff, Project Jonah volunteers, a marine biologist and members of the public used the incoming tide to try to re-float the whale.

Zainab Aziz, 12, was first to spot the whale.

She said her dad was working on a construction site nearby and alerted them to it.

Zainab said it looked like a really big rock, but then she realised it was the whale and went down and waited with it for help to arrive.

NZ Herald