Hopes white whale spotted off New Zealand coast could be elusive Migaloo

An albino humpback whale has been caught on camera off the coast of New Zealand, sparking hopes it may be the elusive Migaloo.

Georgia Phelps and her friends captured video of the rare whale off Kaikōura's coastline.

"We didn't know how rare it was at the time," Phelps told 9News.

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"(The whales) were in no rush to do anything, they were just kind of cruising along.

"You just saw its back come up for a few seconds, I was trying to get the pictures, and then it would disappear again.

"It was really far out, but it was so exciting to see."

Migaloo, the famed albino whale, has not been seen for five years, since it last surfaced off the coast of Port Macquarie in NSW in June 2020.

It was first spotted in Byron Bay in 1991, and has delighted whale watchers for years, spotted as far away as Cape Schanck in Victoria and the Whitsundays in north Queensland.

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Anthony Ardern from Sea World Cruises told 9News the sighting was "very promising".

"It's obviously an extremely white whale, which is what we're looking for," Ardern said.

"There are a few little features that we can see that do look quite promising, but without seeing the complete whale we just don't know."

Experts are encouraging anyone in New Zealand to keep a lookout and document any encounters they have with whales.

"If we had some close-up photos, especially some photos of its fluke (tail) when it rounds out to dive, that's how we can truly tell whether it's Migaloo or not."

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