The dolphins of Newcastle Beach are so familiar the salties could almost know them by name.
Tony Hicks, the owner of the Liquid Gold cafe that looks out over the water on Shortland Esplanade, has been watching the pod of about 15 come in most mornings for many years and believed they stick to the area for the food.
Many Newcastle Beach surfers and ocean swimmers have a story to tell about the magical moment the pod came to say hello.
The Southy Boys - a group of wave riders that haunt Newcastle Beach - drop by Liquid Gold most mornings for a coffee at their regular table, trading stories before heading out for a surf.
Mr Hicks gets out on a bodyboard from time to time and said when the pod suddenly appears around you, seemingly out of nowhere, it can come as a surprise, but for the most part, the creatures were just playful.
"I've been out there at South Newcastle, and a dolphin came straight for me, just eyeballing me and then turning at the last minute," he said.
"It seems to be the same pod out there every morning, anywhere between 7am and 9am, in a group, with maybe a few young ones. They just seem to be mucking around and having fun.
"That's been happening for 15 years."
Mr Hicks grew up in Newcastle and went into the cafe business after working as a labourer in Sydney for a stretch. Even on a moribund grey day with a battering southerly swell on the beaches, it's not hard to see why he chose the beach life.
The breeze comes in through the windows and fills the cafe with salt air, drifting off the breakers visible over the top of the Life Saver's observation deck.
"I got sick of digging holes," Mr Hicks said with a laugh, "I tried a few different things, but that's just too hard work. You can't beat the beach, can you."
