Terror in Taradise

So it's now raining in Taranaki - maybe a slight jinx from the last post. Surf is still up and down every couple of days. I haven't done much running as I've been malingering with this head cold. The main bit of news around these parts, however, has been the return of a local celebrity.

I was first told about her when I first arrived. This was immediately preceeding my first surf session in New Plymouth and I immediately dismissed it as a joke. A few months later - i have been here about 10 weeks now - the story has been lent a little further credance.

This week, locals fishing off a sea kayak in the Port of New Plymouth spotted a Great White shark. A great white, in Taranaki. Estimated at a mere 6 metres, it was assuredly spotted by the locals and the news has spread like wildfire. So this is the return of the Great White Shark, dubbed the 'Taranaki Terror' by the Taranaki Daily News.

a Great White Shark (below), not THE Taranaki Terror

First spotted a few years ago, when it harassed people fishing in a dingy, this sea monster has remained elusive despite attempts made by local shark enthusiasts - marine biologists - to find and meet this creature by air, sea, or 'cleverly' dropping bits of bait in the water. While no photographic record of Double T seems to exist, it has returned each year to pray on the local seal colony at the Sugarloaf Islands near the Port of Taranaki.

The Sugar Loaf Islands - you can climb to the top of the tallest one and look around for miles of sea, beaches, the sun setting to the west... and the local powerplant, the port with it's thousands of containers.

The local media have obviously lept onto it, to change from the local routine of domestic violence stories, alcoholic excesses and juvenile delinquence - albeit by a 10 year old who took his mother's car for a 100km joy ride. It certainly has added a little spice to Taradise - Paradise with a T instead of a P so it sounds like ... I didn't make this up.

Box Jellyfish, Saltwater Crocodiles and Great White sharks all add a little adventure to the beaches of Australia, plus they also have snakes and spiders...

So it's not only Australia - with it's Great Whites, Box Jellyfish, and Saltwater Crocodiles - that has the monopoly on lethal sea creatures. The Taranaki Terror appears to be so in name only, however, and the last documented shark attack around the peninsula dates back to the 1960's. Sadly, in other news this week, a search is still ongoing for a fisherman who's boat was found drifting in the Port of Taranaki last week.

The newspapers haven't linked the two together but... this isn't Jaws , and there isn't going to be a big hunt as Great White sharks are a protected species. Here's hoping they find the guy alive and the shark goes away.

I'm still going surfing... and running - a little safer perhaps?