A simple family swim on Christmas Day had the makings of a horror movie for 9-year-old Runanga girl Cordelia Scott, when what is thought to have been a small shark latched onto her big toe. 

The opportunist nip occurred at the Pororari river at Punakaiki on the South Island's West Coast, where the river runs into the lagoon, while mother Allahna Scott was onshore watching. 

"She was swimming at the turn of the tide and she said, 'Something's got me'," Allahna said. 

Initially, her mother was not concerned because the children had been kidding around earlier, but it quickly became apparent there was no joke. 

"I pulled her out of the water and there was a brown thing about 3ft-long connected to her," she said. 

She gave it a fairly good kicking, using her feet and her hands to get it off. 

"She said it was not like an eel, and had splotches. 

"We think it may have been a rig [shark]." 

Cordelia's toe was all bloody so she left a "good little trail" all the way back to the car where they had a first aid kit, and wrapped it up. 

They then took her to Te Nikau Hospital in Greymouth. 

"Everyone was very interested – we had about five nurses come to look at the bite," Allahna said. 

Cordelia is on antibiotics as a precaution and, asked how she felt, said, "Okay, but sore." 

Siblings Lilly, Latesha and Taymin are nonplussed when Cordelia tells them, "You're not as tough as me, I survived a shark attack." 

The chomp wound is still bandaged as "some bits are deeper" and the incident has "kinda put her off the water for a wee bit," says her mum. 

- Meg Fulford, Greymouth Star