<p>An Australian surfer told Monday how he managed to paddle back to shore and walk hundreds of meters to get help after being attacked by a great white shark.</p>.<p>The 29-year-old said he had been enjoying a "normal days surfing" on Sunday on Kangaroo Island -- off Australia's southern coast -- when he had a sensation of "being hit by a truck" on his left side.</p>.<p>"It bit me around my back, buttock and elbow and took a chunk out of my board," the surfer said in a statement.</p>.<p>"I got a glimpse of the shark as it let go and disappeared."</p>.<p>Police said a member of the public took the man from D'Estrees Bay and was met by paramedics while on route to the island's main city of Kingscote.</p>.<p>Ambulance leader Michael Rushby told Nine News he helped stabilize the man, who was suffering from "serious lacerations" before organising an emergency airlift to the mainland.</p>.<p>South Australia Police said the man's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.</p>.<p>"I'm feeling incredibly lucky and grateful, and I'm optimistic I'll make a full recovery," the man said in his statement.</p>.<p>There have been eight fatal shark attacks in Australian waters so far this year, according to statistics maintained by the Taronga Conservation Society Australia.</p>
<p>An Australian surfer told Monday how he managed to paddle back to shore and walk hundreds of meters to get help after being attacked by a great white shark.</p>.<p>The 29-year-old said he had been enjoying a "normal days surfing" on Sunday on Kangaroo Island -- off Australia's southern coast -- when he had a sensation of "being hit by a truck" on his left side.</p>.<p>"It bit me around my back, buttock and elbow and took a chunk out of my board," the surfer said in a statement.</p>.<p>"I got a glimpse of the shark as it let go and disappeared."</p>.<p>Police said a member of the public took the man from D'Estrees Bay and was met by paramedics while on route to the island's main city of Kingscote.</p>.<p>Ambulance leader Michael Rushby told Nine News he helped stabilize the man, who was suffering from "serious lacerations" before organising an emergency airlift to the mainland.</p>.<p>South Australia Police said the man's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.</p>.<p>"I'm feeling incredibly lucky and grateful, and I'm optimistic I'll make a full recovery," the man said in his statement.</p>.<p>There have been eight fatal shark attacks in Australian waters so far this year, according to statistics maintained by the Taronga Conservation Society Australia.</p>