A five-metre great white shark, nicknamed Bruce, has failed to keep Newcastle beachgoers from dipping their toes, and more, into the water.
The problem is, it's summer, it's stinking hot and it's school holidays.
Beaches in the coastal NSW city remain closed for a record sixth consecutive day on Thursday after further sightings of the huge shark, first spotted on Saturday at Merewether Beach.
But scores of swimmers and surfers defied warnings and have taken to the water at Newcastle's beaches on Wednesday, when the mercury hit a high of 34 degrees, and Thursday, when it reached 28C.
The last confirmed sighting of the shark was at Nobbys Beach on Wednesday afternoon when more than 50 swimmers and surfers reportedly hit the water at Newcastle Beach.
Lifeguards continued their patrols on Thursday.
"The lifeguards there are doing their best to inform people of the danger and to keep them out of the water, but on a day like yesterday when it was 35 degrees and such a good day, it's hard to keep them out," said Nobbys Beach lifeguard Isaac Morgan.
"If we see people swimming in the water, we try and direct them over to the baths," he said.
Lifeguards and hotel guides have been directing bathers to the city's two natural ocean pools - Merewether Ocean Baths and Newcastle Ocean Baths.
"One of my staff members told me that the Merewether baths were just packed when she was there last night," said Rohan Williams, head chef and manager at Newcastle beach cafe Sandbar.
The baths are two of the largest in the southern hemisphere.
Meanwhile the lingering shark threat hasn't dented local trade, with many beachside businesses saying it's been business as usual.
"You'd have to live under a rock not to know about the shark, but we've still been pretty steady this week," Mr Williams said.
Newcastle Council said experts had advised the shark was about five metres long and was likely to weigh about 1700kg.
Experts have advised waiting at least 24 hours after the last sighting before reopening beaches.
Local radio station NXFM has asked listeners to name the shark, with the most popular suggestions being `Bruce' in a nod to the Finding Nemo film character, `Sven' and `Spanner' because "he's thrown a spanner in the works on our beach swims", wrote a local on the station's Facebook page.
