Stingers

It is Stinger season from October to May, which means that if you stick your toe in the water and happen to brush past a box jellyfish then you could potentially die. Box jellyfish (stingers) are incredibly nasty creatures, with tentacles so long that you are usually stung several times before you even see the jellyfish. The pain of being stung by one is meant to be excrutiating and can cause your heart to stop beating due to the shock.
It’s a bit like Russian-roulette walking along the edge of the sea, especially when it looks so tempting. Alternatives to being stung and possibly dying are wearing a wet suit, or a very unflattering stinger suit, which is just like a fine net body suit. Ideally you should be kitted out in foot, hand and head covers too – so by the time you are ready to go in the sea you look quite ridiculous. This is the time of year when Ben can really gloat, as according to the vets we have asked, his hair acts as a stinger suit so he can’t get stung.
I have put up a photo of the signs you see at every beach here, because we find the line “Don’t give up, most victims recover’ amusingly scary.