Crowds have gathered along a boat ramp on Australia’s east coast to marvel at an incredible phenomenon that draws tourists from around the world.
Four endangered grey nurse sharks and a stingray were just metres from the water’s edge, delighting both locals and visitors to the NSW Central Coast on the weekend.
Witness Joy Cooper was finishing dinner at a nearby restaurant when she spotted the excitement out the window at Terrigal Haven and left to take a closer look.
“Kids on the jetty were really good at spotting them, and the sharks were coming so close — it was fantastic to see,” she told Yahoo News.
“The stingray was twice as big as my dining room table.”
In the video below, you can hear kids shouting with joy and a man marvelling at their size as the animals swim nearby.
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The scenes were reminiscent of when a young humpback whale unexpectedly swam under a bridge and close to shore on the Mid North Coast in April.
“To see such a majestic animal in such close proximity was incredible,” a witness told Yahoo News at the time.
Figures reveal reasons tourists visit Australia
The reactions are not unexpected — figures supplied to Yahoo News by Tourism Australia show that nature is the biggest driver for international visitors choosing to head Down Under.
Yes, Sydney has a fancy opera house, and Melbourne has good coffee, and Queensland has the Big Pineapple, but they’re not the reason tourists opt to spend up to 24-hours cramped inside an aeroplane to get here.
Topping its list of reasons to visit in 2025 was “interesting local wildlife” at 40 per cent.
Next on the list were the environments the animals live in, with world-class beaches and coastlines, and natural environments like forests, rivers, and mountains, both at 33 per cent.
As the sun went down over Terrigal, dozens of people flocked to the boat ramp (left) to watch the marine life.
(Joy Cooper)
The research found that 28 per cent came for the appealing climate, while 27 per cent came for safety or to see natural wonders or World Heritage sites — examples include Tasmania’s forests or the Great Barrier Reef.
Australia, being family-friendly, came in at 26 per cent, and authentic Indigenous experiences was 24 per cent.
Authorities accused of neglecting nature
While the environment is a major driver of tourism, Australia spends very little on preserving and protecting nature.
There are concerns Australia is not doing enough to protect its natural drawcards, like the Great Barrier Reef.
(Getty)
Research by the Biodiversity Council, an independent, expert-led not-for-profit founded by 11 Australian universities, found only 0.06%, or $1 in every $1,667 of government spending, will go to on-ground conservation.
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This week, more than 400 experts, including scientists, Indigenous leaders and conservation experts, wrote to the prime minister and treasurer, urging them to provide “adequate funding” to prevent nature loss, which they argue should be at least 1 per cent of the federal budget.
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