A massive southern right whale has delighted and amazed onlookers off the coast of the eastern Bay of Plenty.

Whakatane David Marshall was at his Ōhope home on Tuesday when he spied an "odd looking wave" out to sea.

The Harcourts real estate agent said the "wave" was sitting just beyond the Ocean Rd break and piqued his curiosity.

"A closer look revealed a mass of black so I grabbed my telescope to see what it was," Marshall said.

Once he realised it was a whale, Marshall got his drone into the air and captured some incredible photos of the visitor.

A born-and-bred Ōhope lad, Marshall said there had been many occasions he had seen a whale off shore.

"We're really very lucky."