Video shows up-close encounter with great white shark in Australia

— -- An Australian family captured their up-close, but friendly, encounter with a great white shark the day after Christmas.

Alex Stevens and her family were fishing off the coast of Port Victoria when they spotted a great white shark Tuesday afternoon. The massive predator then spent a terrifying 20 minutes circling their boat.

"It wasn't aggressive, it was just circling the boat," Stevens told 9News Australia. "It didn't touch the boat or anything."

Still, Stevens said she was frightened by the event, which her family captured on video.

"It was a big 5 meter shark, just circling. And it popped out of nowhere," she told 9News Australia. "Everybody else sort of loved the experience. It didn't go away, it circled the boat for about 20 minutes, and I had enough and told everyone we had to move."

At the time, Stevens couldn't wait to get back to land. But in hindsight, she admitted it was "an amazing experience."