A still-shaken Mick Fanning says he will continue to surf, after he was attacked by a shark at Jeffreys Bay.
"Yeah, I'm sure I'll go surfing," he said. "Surfing has given me so much, you know, it's something I do to
clear my mind, it's something that gives me peace. I'm sure I'll go back out."
"I felt so insignificant. That thing was so powerful. I was just trying to move my way around it. I just run on instinct. I just knew I had to try to run away from this thing and once the board was gone, I was just waiting for it to take a leg, or two".
Fanning, Wilson recount how shark attack unfolded
"I am so thankful I don't have anything wrong. I am so thankful Jules was there, the water protection came".
Fanning touched down in Australia on Tuesday after he made headlines around the world for his run-in with the shark, believed to be a great white, during the final of the World Surf League (WSL) event.
#MickFanning has just walked through the gates at Sydney Airport, and will address the media shortly. Stay with us for all the updates. http://bit.ly/1VncBKf Posted by SBS News on Monday, July 20, 2015
The 34-year-old Gold Coaster punched the feared predator and used his board as a shield before rescue crews pulled him and Australian rival Julian Wilson from the water to safety.
"It was so close. I'm doing OK, though. I haven't got a scratch on me. Just thought of more of an emotional, mental sort of trauma right now," he told reporters after touching down in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon.
"It will probably take - I don't know - a couple of weeks, months (to come to terms with it) ... I don't know how long it's going to take," Fanning said.
"But I'm just lucky I've got really good people around me and great friends to just pick me up."
Fanning plans on returning to Jeffreys Bay for next year's competition and says it is one of his top three favourite places on the planet.
"I have to go back. It will be hard. But you have to face these things front on. In the end, I have to deal with it when I come to it," he said.
Wilson said the shark was about twice Fanning's size, about 3.6m.
And Fanning was philosophical about the shark attack.
"Thanks for not eating me. We are in their domain. It's like if you go to a lion's cage, and you jump in, one day, your number will come up. I guess I am lucky it wasn't my time," he said.
Fanning is due to fly back to the Gold Coast to reunite with family and friends.
- With AAP
