Life-Sized Mural of World-Famous Great White Donated to Shark Spotters!

Photo Credit: Plettenberg Bay Arts Association

A life-sized artwork of Nicole – the world-famous great white shark who completed one of the longest migrations ever recorded for a marine mammal – finds a new home where she’ll help educate kids about conservation.

Plettenberg Bay, South Africa (07 July 2026) – When art makes waves! Over the weekend, the Plettenberg Bay Arts Association gathered at Lookout Beach to officially hand over Nicole, a life-sized painting of one of the world’s most famous great white sharks, to Shark Spotters.

The handover happened during the annual Lookout Beach Clean-up, hosted by CapeNature, as part of the Plett Ocean Festival celebrations.

Four talented local artists – Luzanne Gericke, Amanda Leggat, Jesse Francis and William Mwale – are the creative minds behind the piece, named after a real great white who made headlines around the world over two decades ago for her epic swim.

Nicole completed a mind-blowing 20,000 km journey between South Africa and Western Australia and back in just under nine months. It’s one of the longest migrations ever recorded for a marine animal, and completely changed what scientists thought they knew about how far and how fast great whites can travel.

Now, the artwork will live on as a permanent educational tool that Shark Spotters can use to help learners, visitors and the local community see sharks differently!

“Nicole is far more than a beautiful artwork. She is a powerful educational tool that will help Shark Spotters inspire learners, visitors and our local community to better understand and appreciate one of the ocean’s most misunderstood predators.” the association shares.

Shark Spotters is a pioneering shark safety and research organisation which started back in 2004 by Greg Bertish and Dave and Fiona Chudleigh, after a run of shark bite incidents and rising shark sightings had raised alarms. Today, they run the primary shark safety strategy in both Cape Town and Plett.

They keep watch on the water, respond to shark incidents, run research into shark behaviour, work hard to spread the word about shark safety and conservation, and create opportunities for local communities along the way.