Rage teamrider Kai McKenzie joins a rapidly growing group of surfers whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the sharp spike in Great White activity.
It’ll be news to nobody who lives around Port Macquarie that fifteen tagged Great Whites had been swimming around the joint this past week.
And, yesterday, Rage team rider Kai McKenzie joined a rapidly growing group of surfers from around Port whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the sharp spike in Great White activity.
Last year, Toby Beggs lost his right leg, and part of his left, in a wild, multi-pronged attack where he was dragged underwater twice by a twelve-foot Great White.
In 2020,thirty-five-year-old surfer Chantelle Doyle was hit by a ten-foot White at Shelly Beach, Port Mac. Her husband jumped off his board, climbed on the shark and beat hell out of it, saving her life.
“It was unbelievable, the scream was incredible and there was splashing everywhere,” witness Jed Toohey said, “Mark, her partner, got her up on the board. Mark was a hero. He started laying into the shark because it wouldn’t let go. He saved her life. He got off his board and started punching the shark. If he hadn’t put his own life at risk, it would have been strong enough to take her out to sea.”
Shortly after the attack on Kai McKenzie by a ten-foot Great White, Kai’s leg washed up on the beach.
Fast-thinking locals put the leg on ice and both Kai, and his leg, were airlifted to John Hunter hospital where surgeons hope to re-attach the severed limb.
As I wrote yesterday, to call the stretch of coast from Forster in the south to Byron Bay five hours north a Great White Superhighway is to employ the most fantastic powers of understatement.
Pull up to any beach on the six-hundred clicks stretch, whether it’s Tuncurry,Crescent Head, Crowdy Head, Wooli, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay, Ballina or Kingscliff, and you’ll be in waters bloodied by known killer Great White sharks.
And, for Kai McKenzie, it’s going to be a long and expensive road back to some kind of normality. As such, a GoFundMe was set up yesterday and, already, 96k of a 100k goal has been reached.
As you can imagine, the upcoming medical expenses for his recovery and rehabilitation is something no one would ever be prepared for. The funds raised will go in assisting Kai in every aspect of his recovery.
Please dig deep for this family to assist with Kai’s recovery and rehabilitation. I am a neighbour of The McKenzie’s. They are a local family with hearts of gold that would never expect or ask anything of anybody, so let’s give back and show them that they have the communities support in this.
