Gold Coast swimmers' incredible encounter with pod of whales

Three swimmers have recorded their incredible encounter with a pod of humpback whales while swimming near Kirra Beach on the Gold Coast.

Maria Mirtova, Imogen Ryan-Rose, and Christina Lovell only planned to go for a short swim to Kirra Reef this morning, when they were dragged off-course by the currents.

While they were catching their breath and looking for the reef, they suddenly heard the sound of a "big breath" and realised a curious pod of whales had appeared around them.

READ MORE: Aussie pop star wins legal fight against her mother

Two quick dives underwater revealed just how close the whales had come.

The friends work at nearby SeaWorld and are used to interacting with marine animals.

"But seeing them out in the wild was amazing - so cool," Mirtova told 9news.com.au

"We pretty much just stayed still and they circled us for five or six minutes," Ryan-Rose said.

"They came in really close to check us out." 

READ MORE: Great Barrier Reef temperature hits 400-year high

Though the visibility in the water wasn't perfect, their video captured the whole encounter with a pod of up to six Humpback whales, including some juvenile calves.

Mirtova said the whales were so close that she "froze" as she watched them swimming around.

"We missed the reef, but we were found by whales," Ryan-Rose said.

They stressed that anyone who comes across whales in the wild should keep a respectful distance, and follow the safety advice for swimming with whales.

The Queensland Environment Department advises the following:

• Never restrict the path of a marine mammal or cause it to change direction.
• Never drive a boat into a pod or herd of marine mammals causing it to divide into smaller groups. 
• Do not deposit rubbish near a marine mammal. 
• Do not make a sudden noise, or attempt to touch or feed a marine mammal.