On the morning of Tuesday 09 June 2015 local resident Phillip Just discovered this 7.4 metre long minke whale on the Waikawa Beach.
An article on Stuff says:
Measured at 7.4 metres and rolling in chest deep waves, the baleen whale could not be fully examined until scientists could get to the flippers and blowhole and take more measurements.
However, its size and white baleen — its filter feeding mechanism — indicated it could be a Minke.