I like the sea.... to look at. Not so keen on getting in it. Too many unseen dangers lurking. Just the other week as I was out on my usual morning run the beach was covered in dead blue box jelly fish. These things look like pretty little blue blobs of jelly with long tentacles which can give a vicious sting even when dead! So what are they like when they are alive? There have been lots of stories in the paper of people standing on them and getting nasty stings on their feet and legs and curious kids getting stung on their hands. I couldn't think about swimming in water where something unmentionable could brush up against your leg. Makes me shudder. Apparently, when lots of blue box jelly fish are washed up like that it means there has been a big hurricane somewhere and that the sea temperature has risen a few degrees. OK I'll take you word for it.
There have been lots of shark sightings as well round NZ, including Mount Maunganui so the surfers have to keep a look out for any suspicious looking fins breaking the surface of the water.
Not only has the ocean got dangerous animals patrolling the shallows for tasty snacks it seems rips and dangerous tides are a problem too. I f you don't swim or surf between the flags put out by the life guards then expect to be dragged out to sea by a rip. I didn't know what a rip was until I came to New Zealand. It's where the undercurrent of the waves going out are stronger than the surface comes in, so if you are caught in a rip you are sucked out to sea. If its a big one you are sucked under as well. Nice. There has been lots of advice offered in the papers such as don't panic (yeah, right) and just go with the rip until you are out of it and then can swim safely to shore. One lady in the paper was out on her boogie board and got caught in a rip and was tossed around as if in a washing machine. She would have drowned if a nearby surfer hadn't spotted her and dragged her out. She was only in 4 foot of water a few yards from the beach!
Talking of life guards, I hear the ones around Mount Maunganui do a sterling service offering helpful advice on how not to drown, or how to beat off a shark attack as well as rescuing the brainless holiday makers who try to get across to Matakana Island on a lilo. One of the guards said they had had a busy year so far but no drownings, which is very comforting. I was a bit concerned that this guard was 20 years old and this was his 7th year as a lifeguard!!
Anyway, I will enjoy the ocean up to my ankles, avoiding the blue wobbly things.
2 comments:
thank you very much for telling me that stuff i was at the beach just yesterday and i saw 11 brown spotted jellyfish anyway thanks bye.
Wow! Sounds like maybe you need to grab a book and lock yourself in the wardobe for the rest of your life and forget about experiencing anything fun. I have been brought up in the water around Mt Maunganui and have surfed and swam every other day for 35 years, I have never seen a shark and I was stung by a jellyfish once when I was 15, I remember it hurting for about 5 minutes, nothing a ham and tomato sandwich and fanta didn't fix. There are a million more things that can hurt you on land that you wouldn't think twice about. Given a choice, I would rather be eaten by a shark while doing something I love than hit by a drunk driver on my way to pick up milk.
Post a Comment