Teens who drifted out to sea on inflatable toys rescued by fishermen

Sitting on an inflatable flamingo in the sea seems like a great Instagram opportunity, until you get pulled further...and further out to sea.

It's what happened to four teenage girls on "Schoolies" — a spring break-style holiday for Australian school leavers — on Phillip Island in the state of Victoria. 

The group were found "floating helplessly" on two inflatable flamingos, a dinosaur and a unicorn half a kilometre (0.3 miles) from shore on Monday, in waters that reportedly, so happen to be teaming with sharks.

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"We just wanted to get a few good Instagram pictures, and it turned out we drifted nearly all the way to the other island," Katie, as she's known, explained on The Project.

One of the girls, Taylor, started having a panic attack when they realised how far they'd wandered from land. A combination of light winds and a strong tide had slowly pulled them dangerously far out.

Fortunately for them, fisherman Alex King and his friend were looking for squid in the area and came by the trouble-stricken seafarers.

"As soon as we approached them, we figured they were in a bit of strife," King told 7 News. 

"And at first they were like, 'thank god you're here' because there was no one else on the water."

He let them hitch a ride back to shore, where they've learnt their lesson about riding inflatable animals in the open sea for a photo opp. 

At least it makes for a good holiday tale.