Australian shark sightings: NT couple spot shark swimming near shore at Mindil Beach

An Irish national and her partner who recently moved to the Top End were left shocked when an afternoon walk turned into a surprise shark sighting at a popular beach. WATCH THE VIDEO.

An Irish national and her partner were left shocked and excited when an afternoon walk turned into a surprise shark sighting at a Top End beach.

Becky Kennedy, originally of Kilkenny, and her partner, Nick Marquis, were walking at Mindil Beach when Nick spotted something in the water.

Becky Kennedy, of Kilkenny Ireland, and her partner, Nick Marquis, were walking at Mindil Beach when Nick spotted the shark. Photo: Nick Marquis

“(We) were actually on the phone to Nick’s mum,” Ms Kennedy said.

“He yelled back to me ‘Shark in the water’, and of course, ran towards it.”

The video showed the beautiful shark swimming close to the edge of the water, before thrashing its body and turning around.

Speaking to the NT News, Ms Kennedy said moments before the sighting they had been marvelling at the Territory’s natural beauty.

The shark thrashed its body (perhaps towards a tasty fish) before swimming away from the shore. Photo: Nick Marquis

The couple saw a shark near the mangroves as well. Photo: Nick Marquis

“We’ve only lived here for three months, and said about five minutes earlier ‘You really could see anything up here in the NT – (we’re) just waiting to see a croc on the beach’, and then this (happened),” she said.

“There were a couple of people who had their dogs in the water, so we of course alerted them. It was quite a sight to see on a Friday afternoon.

The shark was just metres from the shore Photo: Nick Marquis

Ms Kennedy said the incident was a far cry from anything she’d seen in Ireland.

“It’s not every day you’d see something like this at home.”

Online, people speculated about what kind of shark it was.

“It’s a hammer head most likely, they have a bit of a peacock fin going on – like they wanted to wear the biggest, silliest hat to the party,” one Facebook user wrote.

“We’ve got every bitey you can imagine in our waters,” wrote another.

Originally published as Australian shark sightings: NT couple spot shark swimming near shore at Mindil Beach