A stunned surfer couldn’t believe his luck when he leapt on his board and shared a wave with this bottlenose dolphin.
Pete Tomlinson, 26, could not believe his eyes as the playful mammal fearlessly surfed the 10ft breaker alongside him.
The pair shared with wave for around 50 yards and even shared a ‘tube’ – where the breaking wave forms a tunnel of water.
The incredible moment was captured when a photographer pal shot downwards from a 100ft cliff, which meant the dolphin could be seen gliding alongside him.
Pete, of Elliston near Adelaide in Australia, rode the wave with the dolphin for around 20 seconds before it swam back out to sea.
He said: ”I had seen the dolphin swimming around nearby before I caught the wave, then as I turned in to the tube it came flying in with me.
”We locked eyes for a moment before we were both tubed and then flew out together in unison.
”To get a photo of it is a bonus. Everyone that’s seen it thinks it’s a cool shot and I’ll take it as a good omen.”
The stunning sequence of pictures was taken by photographer Shane Smith, 38, shooting down on Kiana beach on the Eyre Peninsula in Australia.
Shane said: ”There are resident dolphins here that pass through the surf here every day. The dolphins circle and play with the surfers until a wave rears up.
”From this high vantage point you can actually penetrate the surface glare that you’d normally encounter when shooting the image from ground level.
”This unique and amazingly clear angle proves that dolphins enjoy riding the waves as much as we do.”
In October boffins witnessed five wild dolphins in Adelaide’s Port River teaching each other how to walk on their tails – just for fun.
