Danii Triana Romero went to Melbourne's Aspendale Beach earlier this month she had never seen an animal in the water, despite having lived in a nearby beachside suburb for 12 years.
Accompanied by a friend and her toddler, as well as her own two-year-old daughter, Ms Triana Romero had just been for a swim.
She had come out of the water to supervise the children so her friend could go for a dip, when her daughter said, "Run away! It's a shark".
"I said 'What?'" Ms Romero said.
"I was quite shocked."
Just metres away, a large shark was swimming in the shallows in front of the Aspendale Lifesaving Club.
In a video that Ms Triana Romero took, her pregnant friend can be seen wading in the distant water.
"I thought it was going to be more scary, but the shark was so calm, it was just swimming there," she said.
The beach was not patrolled at the time and her friend safely got out of the water.
Ms Romero says next time she is at the beach she will be "more aware of shadows" in the water.
Life Saving Victoria (LSV) says shark sightings "aren't uncommon".
This summer the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) has confirmed 20 shark sightings in Victorian waters, including one in Port Phillip Bay.
"Sharks are a normal part of the marine environment," said Liam O'Callaghan, LSV's manager for the central region.
"Our advice is to be alert, not alarmed, and you can be informed of the latest sightings on the Vic Emergency app."
Victorian beaches closed
Last weekend, Aspendale and a few adjacent beaches were closed after a blue shark was spotted that measured between 1.5 and 2 metres.
Volunteer club captain at the neighbouring Edithvale Life Saving Club Emily Bell was on duty on Sunday.
"We first heard about the shark at about 1:30pm – at that time it was at Aspendale," she said.
"The beach was busy."
An hour and a half later the 22-year-old was looking out between the red and yellow flags into the "crystal clear" water when she saw the shark swimming only 5–10m offshore.
"We immediately cleared the people out of the water," she said.
"We put our evacuation siren on and our team split to also clear people outside of the flags."
The beach was closed for the next two hours while lifesavers used watercraft to push the shark out to sea.
"I've never personally been that close to a shark before," she said.
"It was quite calm, it was just swimming and we stayed behind it."
The VFA confirmed a blue shark was sighted at Aspendale Beach on Sunday travelling in a southerly direction. It was later seen near Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach.
VFA operations duty officer Bill McCarthy told ABC Radio Melbourne they would continue to watch the situation.
"If people monitor the Vic Emergency website that's where we put information about medium and high-hazard sharks," he said.
"The blue shark is not what we consider a high-hazard shark, but it is a predator."
What you should do
People should not panic if they see a shark, LSV says, but they should leave the water.
At a patrolled location, beachgoers should notify lifesavers and if the area isn't patrolled they should call triple-0 (000).
While it's important to be aware of sharks, Mr O'Callaghan says they aren't the biggest danger at the beach.
"It's aquatic safety and rips that pose the greatest danger," he said.
"So make sure you are swimming at a safe location, with a friend."
