Close encounter of the safe kind

Lydia Ward returned to the water to face a shark. Photo / Doug Sherring

Teenager Lydia Ward had her second close encounter with sharks yesterday - but this time she avoided being bitten.

The 14-year-old from Invercargill survived a shark attack last month after she pounded a 1.5m fish with her boogie board.

She survived the incident, suffering only superficial cuts and bite marks to her wetsuit.

Yesterday was the first time Lydia returned to open water after her brush with the predator. She spent 30 minutes in a shark cage in the chilly waters off Stewart Island.

The trip, with Shark Diver New Zealand, saw the teen get up close with 4.5m white pointers, also known as great whites. "I was a bit nervous when I first hopped in," she admitted. "One of them bit through the rope and took a buoy away that was holding some bait."

Her father Tim said he had no concerns about putting his daughter into the water with sharks.

And he said she bore no grudges against the species as a result of last month's fright.

"She knew it was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that shark was probably more scared than she was."