KEY POINTS:
Stephen Nuthall couldn't resist getting into his kayak and having a close-up look when two sharks swam into Vivian Bay on Kawau Island, in the Hauraki Gulf, on January 2.
A 2.5m bronze whaler was one of two sharks that stunned Vivian Bay residents, who are normally used to seeing dolphins and stingrays.
Mr Nuthall, 32, told the Herald last night that he wasn't afraid of being so close to sharks, despite their fearsome reputation.
"I saw some people pointing so I jumped in a kayak to check them out and observe," Mr Nuthall said.
He used to hand-feed small sharks when he worked in Auckland's Kelly Tarlton's and is a keen diver which could account for his composure.
"I wasn't scared at all, but having said that, you don't really know sharks, do you?"
But he draws the line at coming anywhere near a great white shark, of Jaws fame.
"I'd hate to kayak with a great white," he said.
Mr Nuthall said people had to have respect for marine life and realise that fish were more scared of humans than vice versa.
"Some of these things have never been touched by humans, so when they are, of course they react."
Aucklander Barrie Cooper took the photo as the sharks circled the two wharfs in the bay.
A boatie first raised the alarm when he thought he'd seen two dolphins but other onlookers soon realised what the creatures were.
"They saw the fin and thought it was dolphins but the tail was a giveaway," Mr Cooper said.
The incident occurred late in the afternoon when most of the swimmers were out of the water, but those still in the warm water fled quickly and began taking photos from the safety of the beach and from boats.
"People didn't get too scared but they got out quickly. But any big fish will give you a bite if it's provoked and they are hunters and go for blood," Mr Cooper said.
He had been told that shark sightings in the bay were rare.
"People who have lived there for 30 years have said that they've never seen them, so it's definitely unusual," he said.
