'Epic' dolphin encounter caught by adventurer

Dave Boyes, 30, recently returned from a sailing trip up the east coast of Australia to the Flinders Group National Park in the Great Barrier Reef.

Mr Boyes from Moruya on the NSW south coast and a couple of mates spent two years travelling the coast from Batemans Bay to Far North Queensland and back.

It was while in southern Queensland waters fishing for yellowfin tuna that a very curious dolphin swam alongside their boat, cheekily after a share of the catch.

He shared video footage on his Instagram account of the encounter that he described as "epic".

"We were just out past the FAD and he poked his head up to say g'day," Mr Boyes said.

"I've never seen a dolphin do that.

"Maybe he knew where he could get a free feed!"

The video shows Mr Boyes hand feeding chunks of freshly caught tuna to the dolphin which really appears to be smiling and happy with the meal.

And why wouldn't it be.

"Fresh sashimi, they were premium chunks!" he said with a chuckle.

Mr Boyes said he and his friends had seen plenty of incredible things while exploring the Great Barrier Reef and the east coast during their journey but this one really stood out as a highlight.

"It was epic. It would've been with us for about 20 minutes.

"We caught a lot of different fish on the trip. The ocean provides.

"This was us giving something back to the ocean."

Take a look at some of the friends' east coast adventures on Instagram at @paradisesouthexperience_