Dear all,

We are not talking about painful-but-relatively-harmless kind of jellyfish
stings here. Box jellyfish (Chironex spp.) are DEADLY. If not, they will
permanently leave the most disgusting scars on your skin, and your holiday
will certainly be over if you ran into one of these critters. Having lived
in Box jellyfish territory (most of the northern Australian coastline), I
know that there is only one sure-fire protection: Stay out of the water!
The period is October to May, but it depends highly on the rainfall. They
live in amongst mangroves and will be flushed out when it rains. So if you
find yourself in box jellyfish territory during the wrong time of the year:
1. Always listen to the advice of locals
2. Some areas (offshore) are OK, but when you do go into the water, make
sure you are not alone. Vinegar alleviates the pain but does not reverse
any of the stings. Bring a mobile phone. Some people wear lycra suits, but
you'd have to cover your hands and feet as well and keep your face out of
the water.
3. Remember that box jellyfish country is also crocodile country
Sorry about the alarmist message, but I've seen the scars and heard the
stories from those who had unfortunate encounters with box jellyfish. In
this case it's definitely better to be safe than sorry

Patty