In a scene reminiscent of the ’60s television show “Flipper,” a long-distance swimmer has been protected by a pod of dolphins that scared off a shark during a charity ocean swim off the coast of New Zealand.
Swim coach Adam Walker was tackling the 15-mile-long Cook Strait last Tuesday as part of his quest to become the first British man to conquer the Oceans Seven — a group of seven long-distance swims around the world — when he spotted a shark in the water below him.
Just as he began to panic, Walker said, he was surrounded by a pod of about 10 dolphins that swam with him for more than an hour.
They swam around him playfully, getting close enough to touch.
“I’d like to think they were protecting me and guiding me home,” Walker wrote on his Facebook page.
“This swim will stay with me forever.”
Video of Walker’s swim with the dolphins was posted to YouTube the next day, April 23, where it has since garnered more than 2 million views.
In a weird coincidence, Walker’s swims are to aid the Whale and Dolphin Conservation charity.
With the English Channel, Gibraltar Straits, Catalina Channel, Molokai Strait, Tsugaru Strait and now the Cook Strait under his belt, Walker’s final swim of the seven takes place this August in the Irish Sea.
For the record, he finished the Cook Strait swim in 8 hours and 36 minutes.
This article originally appeared on News.com.au.