"Being hunted by a really big bull shark."
Maitlands Beach is a pretty as hell and relatively untouched stretch of coastline in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth there. A remotish sorta joint an hour so north-east of that world famous righthand point Jeffreys Bay, a surf mecca where the keen surfer can buy a house on the beach for under two hundred gees.
Few sharks around Maitlands you’d think and you wouldn’t be wrong.
In this video, we see an old man surfer who captures his near miss with a bull shark with his GoPro. The surfer, who has surfed the joint since 1996, paddled out solo a nine-eight equipped with an electronic Shark Shield, one of the few shark deterrents that actually seems to work.
Ol man subsequently described the session in a YouTube upload posted January 3, 2026, by the channel DaysGonePast, noting his deliberate choice of larger equipment for stability in variable conditions and added protection in waters known for occasional shark presence.
Shortly after paddling out the back, a large shark appeared as a broad shadow gliding parallel to him. The shark circled initially without apparent aggression, then made a sharp U-turn and accelerated directly toward the surfer.
In the footage, he pauses mid-paddle, eyes locked on the approaching form, and can be heard uttering a terse command amid the wind and spray as the shark closes in what appeared to be an attack posture only to veer away at the final moment.
The video, titled “Big shark hunts surfer ends in close death encounter at Maitlands beach,” quickly garnered nearly 200,000 views. In the description, the old man stressed the seriousness of such moments in unpatrolled, wild sections of coastline.
“It’s no joke,” he wrote.
Riding a 9,8 in 2 ft surf, sitting down surfing ,mouth go pro… so many questions
JohnNonJohn would have pooped in his da kine, then gone straight to da kine to drink piles of da kine
Is that a goat boat or is that guy doing some sort of sit down on a surfboard thing?
I think sit down on a surfboard thing.
The guy is stretching it a bit calling it surfing. Maybe surfsitting or sitsurfing is a better descriptor.
The WSL is proud to announce the new VSS (Val Surf Sitting) League.
Maybe he’s just keen to keep his lil’ leggies out of the water?
Bull sharks sound like they could be the worst of the big 3? From all reports Aussie anglers are going to town on them in the rivers. Numbers have grown rapidly..
Less lethal than a White but tons of em around. Dave Pearson, who got hit by a bull at Crowdy Head, same place where the backpacker gal was killed, said it fully launched itself at him. Ain’t no crime to fish em either.
No good. Happy they’re being fished, and more so we don’t get bulls and tigers in VIC.
I don’t understand how we have avoided the uptick in attacks down here given there’s a healthy white shark population regularly spotted by anglers. Been surfing drop off beach breaks for the past 15 years, haven’t seen a shark in the lineup nor has anyone I surf with. Last fatal attack 1987, and plenty before that so could only be a matter of time
Once the Vic waters warm up over the next few years prepare to roll out the red carpet for the Bulls! They are now hanging in Sydney waters all year-round – they use to fuck off up north for winter…
been fishing f0r ’em in the river here- sure is fun setting up under a shady tree with big game gear and hooking a monster.
That is wild… and scary.
pretty rad pulling a VW size bully out of a river.
Thats crazy. Went fishing with my cousin on up the Richmond River last year. They make it pretty far up there? It was super murky.