Chilling Yeppoon
I’ve always thought of the deadly box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri)as rare, but they’re only rare outside the waters of tropical Australia—Moreton Bay, say, as opposed to Yeppoon, which is just on the Tropic of Capricorn.
I also thought that the poisonous jellies are seasonal—swarming only when they mate or whatever—but apparently it’s bad around here between November and April whereas a bit further north, it’s bad between May and October. In short, it’s always bad.
I remember the swarms of blue jellyfish we spotted from the ferry to Moreton Island: a dense mosaic of medusas floating just below the surface. In my vision, they transformed into deadly stingers, dragging three metre long tentacles behind them.
“So what,” John said. “We’ve got stung plenty in Bali.”
It’s true that the waters around Tulamben are thick with free-floating tentacles and strings of nematocysts discharged by the enormous anemones around there, but those only cause minor irritations. I read from the guide book: ” ‘When stung, douse immediately with vinegar to prevent the nematocysts from discharging and call an ambulance. Artificial respiration may be required.’—John, somehow I don’t think these things are merely irritants. They are about as venomous as a deadly snake!”
For those who are still bent on watersports, protective lycra suits are widely available, but they are skin tight, which is fine when you have a slender, toned body. I would look like a dugong in one of them, only less graceful. And I can’t exactly wear my shorts and T-shirt over the lycra suit without looking ridiculous. So, I quietly scrapped snorkeling from my list of planned activities.
I mulled over how to put this to John when I spotted a local paper on a table as we were walking past a coffeeshop:
Yesterday (13th January), on this very beach—the main beach in Yeppoon—at least ten sharks and a dozen stingrays approached up to 10m from shore, in waist-deep water. At least six sharks were seen ‘surfing’ in a single wave. The beach was cleared immediately. Nobody was hurt.
After I had read this out, John looked out to sea where a few kids splashed in the shallow water between the two yellow and red lifesaver flags—behind the stinger net. “I think we should give the snorkeling a miss for now,” he said
Tags: Australia, sharks, stingers, Travel, Yeppoon, Tag Index
Denni