Breathtaking drone footage has captured a great white shark gliding effortlessly along the water just meters away from the shoreline of a New South Wales beach.
Videographer Trent Micallef, who posted the recording to Instagram, said the shark was potentially the largest great white he has seen from his drone so far.
It’s a big claim for the nature and wildlife enthusiast who has filmed multiple encounters of the ocean predators.
The vision was filmed in the waters of a NSW South Coast beach.
“Its sheer size, along with the scars covering its body, told a story of age, survival, and a life spent navigating the challenges of the ocean,” he captioned the post.
“Every mark has likely been earned through countless encounters over many years as one of the ocean’s most formidable predators.”
While the remarkable clip left some of Mr Micallef’s 32.6k followers in awe, it was also a grim reminder of the horrific Coogee Beach shark attack that left a local mother fighting for her life.
Leah Stewart lost her arm and remains in intensive care on life support following the vicious attack which occurred last Saturday morning.
She was swimming between the lifeguard flags and close to shore at the Sydney beach when the tragic incident occurred.
“Beautiful footage, but which beach so I can avoid at all costs,” one of Mr Micallef’s followers commented.
“Good lord that’s close to the shore as well,” another added.
A third commenter said: “Holy smokes, this footage. What a creature of grace and beauty and awesomeness”.
“And it scared the s**t out of me too.”
Mr Micallef reassured viewers by explaining the shark appeared to be tagged on it’s dorsal fin, suggesting it was being monitored.
A GoFundMe for Ms Stewart has raised more than $458,000, with 6,700 donating towards the cause.
One donor, who was a student at Sydney Adventist School when Ms Stewart was teaching in 2016, recounted how the teacher was a fan of TV show Survivor.
“My friend and I had been watching Australian Survivor and were discussing the finale,” they said.
“Miss Stewart overheard … and quickly said ‘don’t tell me who won, I haven’t seen it yet’.
“She then said she wanted to go on Survivor. Well 10 years later, she is a survivor.”
Ms Stewart will continue to undergo surgery, with her family asking for those following her recovery journey to keep her in their prayers.
“Given the extensive open wounds contaminated with sand and debris, the risk of infection is extreme,” he brother Joshua Stewart said in an update earlier this week.
“Please pray for her during her continued surgery and for her body to heal without infection.”
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