'Having a ball': Seal captured riding waves at beach in Hawke's Bay

A seal has been captured riding waves at Te Awanga beach in Hawke's Bay.

Local photographer and videographer Michael Farr told 1News he caught the moment on camera yesterday at about 4pm.

Farr said when he first approached the beach, he thought it was a surfer.

"Then I saw it was a seal having a ball ... I've never seen one ride waves like that."

Farr then pulled out his phone and recorded the seal and uploaded it to Instagram.

He said he was "gutted" he wasn't with his professional cameras at the time.

However, Farr said if he was, he may have missed the moment with larger equipment which could be “cumbersome”.

“It wasn’t meant to be.”

Today, Farr said he received a call from a friend who also had an interaction with the seal.

"She told me she caught a wave with the seal ... she was a bit sketched out."