{"id":201931,"date":"2025-12-25T23:57:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T23:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/201931\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T23:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T23:57:11","slug":"sunlive-coromandel-attack-kayaker-fights-off-shark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/201931\/","title":{"rendered":"SunLive – Coromandel attack: Kayaker fights off shark"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
\n <\/p>\n

A Coromandel holidaymaker is still in shock after a shark attacked his kayak \u201ccompletely out of the blue\u201d.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Kanaru Namioka was coming back from a Christmas Eve paddle in Matapaua Bay with his mum when he turned around and saw a shark \u201cquite close\u201d to them.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cI turned to face it, and it just came for me,\u201d he told the\u00a0Herald.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

It attacked his kayak, and at one point lifted its head out of the water next to Namioka\u2019s leg to chomp on the boat.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Luckily, the large kayak protected him while he used his paddle to hit the shark \u201cover and over again\u201d, before it let go.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cIts whole head was out like gnawing on or biting down on the side of the kayak. It was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\"DeepDeep gashes in the kayak left by the shark. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

As his mum began to paddle to the shore, the shark turned around one more time, but after a few more hits from Namioka\u2019s paddle, it began to back off.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of swam away a bit. I just boosted as fast as I could towards the rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

The encounter \u201call happened so fast\u201d as the\u00a0shark<\/a>\u00a0began attacking him within a few seconds of seeing it.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cIt just came completely out of the blue.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\"MoreMore damage caused by the shark. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Namioka said he acted on instinct during the encounter, and was only able to think about what happened afterwards.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like something out of a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Namioka said he is still shaken and only slept a couple of hours last night because of the adrenaline.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Around 10-15 minutes after the pair returned to shore, someone spotted what seemed to be the same shark\u2019s fins sticking out of the shallow water near the beach.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Namioka said people going to other popular Coromandel spots like \u014cpito Bay, or K\u016baotunu, \u201cneed to be a little bit on alert\u201d because of the shark\u2019s hostile nature, he said.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Bronze whaler sharks, which are not known to attack people, are commonplace in the bay, but Namioka suspected that this may have been a mako shark, although he\u2019s \u201cnot 100%\u201d sure.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

The shark<\/a>\u00a0was small, between 220 and 250cm, Namioka estimated, so its behaviour was surprising.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cMy kayak was not that much smaller than the shark itself, and it was just fearless going at me with no hesitation or anything. I\u2019ve never heard of anything like that before.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\"MarksMarks on the kayak. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Namioka said the orange colour of his kayak may have attracted the shark as it did not attack his mum\u2019s boat, which was a different colour.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is lucky because my mum\u2019s kayak is considerably smaller and she\u2019s an older woman, so it could have been a lot more dangerous if it went for her.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

In Namioka\u2019s years of holidaying at the family bach near Matapaua Bay, he\u2019s never heard of anything like that happening, he said.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

The encounter has put Namioka off going back out on the water for a few days, he told the\u00a0Herald.<\/p>\n

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