Bronzed guest not welcome at Papamoa

Large crowds of swimmers are not the only thing beachgoers have to contend with in the water this summer - sharks such as this one are frequently being seen in Bay waters.
This 2.5m bronze whaler was caught off Papamoa Beach last Saturday and Omanu Surf Rescue head lifeguard Isaac Gilmore said another two sharks were spotted swimming about 100m south of the club's flags yesterday.
Mr Gilmore said he wasn't given any more details of their size or what type of sharks they were, but they were cruising down towards Leisure Island.
According to the Department of Fisheries, bronze whalers can grow to a maximum length of 3.3m and are common off ocean beaches in the top half of the North Island at this time of year.
While makos, a close cousin to the fearsome great white shark, are the most common shark found in Bay waters during the summer months, the Department of Fisheries says bronze whalers are sighted more often because they are more known for feeding closer to shore.
There have only been about 45 unprovoked shark attacks recorded in New Zealand since 1852, with nine being fatal.
Three of those attacks were recorded in the Bay of Plenty one of which, at Te Kaha in 1976, caused a fatality.
Great whites, although they are present in Bay waters, are rarely seen off local beaches and are far more commonly seen in the South Island. However, a shark, believed to be a great white was spotted attacking a pod of dolphins off Pukehina last January.
Andrew Park, patrol captain at Mount Maunganui main beach, said sharks were a fact of life in the Bay but caused little in the way of problems for beachgoers.
"If you do see one get out of the water and alert people immediately around you. Then tell the nearest lifeguard and we will take appropriate action," he said.
Saturday's find attracted a large crowd of onlookers and came about after Marty Hoffart rowed his small boat out to the fish net he'd set off Papamoa Beach.
Instead of finding fish for dinner, he got a little more than he bargained for and came face to face with one of the ocean's most capable predators.
He suspected something was wrong when he tried to drag the net in.
It was little more difficult than usual and it was a long time before the white belly of a 2.5m bronze whaler became visible above the water.
"Occasionally we get sand sharks but nothing this size. Two and a half metres is pretty huge when you're in a 2.5m row boat," he said. "Once I saw the huge white belly I had to stop and have a think. There was no way it was coming into the boat."
A neighbour, Ryan Orchard, jumped in his kayak and paddled out to give Mr Hoffart a hand. The pair decided to tow the shark into shore where a gathering crowd eagerly waited to get a look at the beast.
Once they got it to shore, they dug a deep hole and buried the shark which was estimated to weigh about 200kg.
"I think a lot of the locals were happier to see it out of the water than in the water," said Mr Hoffart.
Safety advice: If you see a shark stay calm. If you panic it might think you are wounded prey and attack. If you are attacked, hit it as hard as you can in the head. By hitting the shark, it will buy some time to get away and might make it think twice about attacking you. You should treat any shark longer than 1.8m as dangerous.
Source: Department of Conservation