Cyclone Gabrielle: Incredible moment video captures a herd of cows swimming to safety in flood waters

Incredible footage of the moment a herd of cows managed to swim to safety after their Hawke's Bay paddock was flooded is going viral.

With water up to their necks, more than 20 cows on a farm in Waipawa were at of drowning when flash floods completely swamped their paddock on Tuesday.

However, as a herd - and with the help of their owner - they managed to swim over 500 metres to safety.

Posting the video to Facebook, Vet Services Waipukurau wrote: "Aren’t cattle amazing? This mob of cows were neck deep in flooding and at risk of being swept into the river in Waipawa yesterday.

"With some encouragement from their owner they swam over 500 metres towards her voice and to safety!

They added: "A vet check and treatments were carried out today before the girls were moved to a safe paddock to rest and recover."

In the video, the owner, standing on high ground, can be heard loudly calling to the cows to guide them to safe pastures.

The cows are then seen swimming toward the owner.

Cows are surprisingly good swimmers and can swim up to a couple of kilometres at a time in calm conditions.