Boaties’ great surprise
Great white shark sightings in the Hauraki Gulf have made a splash on social media.
Possibly the same shark gave at least two boats a curious once over on the north side of Whangaparaoa peninsula over the weekend.
A video posted to the Hibiscus Coast Facebook page on Sunday by Staffan Ljunggren shows a juvenile great white approach the back of a boat and lift its mouth out of the water to ‘smile’ at the camera.
The shark then rolls to expose its side as it swims past, just inches from the boat.
The video has racked up over 30 thousand views, with some commenters saying their swim- ming days are over for this summer.
A second video was captured by Julie Bluck in a fishing boat 400 metres off Stanmore Bay’s eastern point showing possibly the same shark biting down on a plastic berley bomb.
It also took a bite out of the boat’s fishing anchor, which now has a few holes in it where the teeth have punctured.
A photo taken by Bluck shows a fishing hook in the corner of its mouth, proving its weekend encounters with fishing boats weren’t its first.
Marine scientist and shark expert Clinton Duffy says great white sightings are ‘‘quite a regular thing’’ in the Hauraki Gulf.