Australian man goes viral after ‘whale surfing’

Surfing is a very popular pastime in Australia, but one man in the nation took his hobby to an all-new level this past week, when he decided to swap out his surfboard for a dead whale. 

Harrison Williams was out for a day on the waves with his friends on a boat when they came across the rotting carcass of a whale which was floating on the surface of the sea. 

However, while most of us would probably be content with snapping a picture or two of nature at work, the fearless Harrison jumped into the water and climbed aboard the whale, surfing it for the cameras. 

His bold move came despite the fact that the whale was surrounded by a number of tiger sharks and massive great white sharks which were feasting on the dead mammal. Thankfully he made it safely back aboard the boat when his friend came close enough. 

“Mum thinks I’m an idiot,” Williams said. “Dad’s not too proud either.” However, he seemed somewhat unperturbed by the presence of the huge predator sharks. “He was too busy chomping on the whale so wasn’t too bad,” he explained.

Mr Williams' antics were filmed by a number of people on different boats at the time, with videos going viral as people enjoy his rather daring antics.

The whale would later wash ashore Scarborough Beach in Perth, Australia, and would cause yet more consternation when the smell wafted around the local area. Authorities struggled to find a way to get rid of it initially, and while they have now managed to do so at long last, locals are complaining that the smell has yet to disappear. 

Some criticised the $100,000 (£53,000) it cost to remove the whale from the beach, while others have said that local authorities taking so long to act meant they were endangering beachgoers by leaving what is essentially shark bait on a busy beach.