When you’re staring into the murky waters of your local river or shivering by the British seaside, it’s hard to imagine a huge creature hunting you down as you paddle.
But in other parts of the world, the likes of sharks and whales are far more common.
And while one kayaker in Chile was ‘swallowed’ whole by a humpback whale, another was hunted by a massive great white shark in a life-threatening encounter.
Matt Wells went through a terrifying eight minutes as the giant animal stalked him. We might think that sounds pretty scary, but the fisherman simply reckons the shark was just toying with him.
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Capturing the moment on camera, Wells had headed out on his kayak into the waters around New Zealand’s Bay of Islands.
Not intending to catch a shark, the Kiwi had simply been hoping to catch himself some yellowtail kingfish. And he’d gotten pretty excited when he saw some splashing going on behind him, thinking he was about to hook a biggen.
But the splashing grew and a dark shadow approached his kayak, getting bigger and swimming faster.
And, understandably, the lad’s panic became pretty clear as it could be heard in his voice as he repeatedly said: “Great white… great white shark.”
Paddling faster, he continued: “F**k me, there’s a huge great white behind me.
“Please don’t attack me bro.”
With the shark coming right up behind him so clear to see in the clear blue waters, Wells said: “How do I get him to leave me alone?
“I have lost sight of him, I don't like that, I've lost sight of him - please keep me safe, keep me well and keep that shark from me.”
Wells eventually made it back to shore but the footage truly is unnerving and it’s impressive how he managed to stay as calm as he did.
Speaking to Today, he admitted he’d gotten over the ordeal ‘pretty quickly’ and it’s ‘in the past now’ as he’s been back out fishing already.
He did however say that he ‘was a bit in shock’ as it played out.
“It was a whole lot of emotions hitting at once,” Wells said.
“I was terrified, shocked, excited and well, just sort of in awe of the size of the animal that I'd just seen.”
But while it did cross his mind that he could be attacked, he isn’t convinced it was ‘hunting’ him.
“They can attack you, but they're a curious animal more than anything and really, I think he was just giving me a fright and having a bit of fun,” Wells explained.
Well, rather you than me then mate.
Jess Battison