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 Everything is so new and a little scary in the alien world of scuba diving.
What if the air regulator fails? What about buoyancy? I could sink like a stone with these
cumbersome weights tied around my waist.
But before I can panic, the magic moment arrives. A giant sea turtle glides past, peering at
me with casual interest. I float in the clear blue water, transfixed by the creature's silent
and sudden appearance. After a few seconds face-to-face, the turtle turns away, the blue light
dancing upon its mottled shell. It drifts back towards the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, yet
still so close that I feel I could reach out and touch its gently sweeping fins.
Then it hits me - THE CAMERA! I'm holding an underwater camera in my right hand and have just
missed a chance to take the photo of a lifetime. I guess it is a common mistake by the first-time
diver, but never mind… I'm quickly learning that photo opportunities are not hard to find in this
part of the world - north Queensland, in Australia's tropics.
If you do not fancy the Great Barrier Reef, there is always the incredible sight of the Daintree
Rainforest crawling down the mountains and meeting the blue ocean, the two separated only by a band
of perfectly white sand. Or maybe you would prefer a short drive up those mountains into the Atherton
Tablelands, a gorgeous green vista filled with hidden waterfalls and swimming holes.
Northern Queensland is a paradise the likes of which you are unlikely to find anywhere else, and it has
the perfect climate to match. The region has long marketed itself with the slogan: "Beautiful One Day,
Perfect The Next". However, it is not so beautiful when you ignore the bright yellow warning signs which
seem to pop up at every turn. They usually feature comedic pictures of stick men being attacked by
crocodiles or odd-shaped creatures resembling giant squids.
Vinegar to
relieve jellyfish stings
The world-famous crocodiles lurk in the watery estuaries that characterise the
zone where rainforests meet the sea. They usually emerge from their hiding places in the riverbanks
when a drunken tourist decides to ignore the signs and take a swim… but don't expect to see the
prehistoric killing machines when you pay $30 for a crocodile tour.
Another great danger of the area is the box jellyfish which inhabit coastal waters. The name does
not sound perilous enough, so the harmless looking creatures have been renamed "marine stingers".
Stinger is certainly easier to pronounce than the scientific name (chironex fleckeri), but it still
does not convey the agony that these creatures can inflict. An encounter with a jellyfish can be as
deadly as one with a crocodile, and a thousand times more painful. Yet, in an almost quaint touch,
small bottles of vinegar can be found on most Queensland beaches to be used for the relief of screaming
victims. Seems like a cure that your mother would recommend, yet a splash of vinegar really does
lessen the pain.
Stingers make almost all of Queensland’s beaches a no-go zone in the summer months, but you have nothing
to fear when in the deeper waters of the reef. Oh, and just in case you think it is only the animals that
are out to get you, you might want to watch out for stinging trees. Simply brushing a heart-shaped leaf
on one of these innocuous-looking plants will result in hospitalisation and a pain that comes back to haunt
you for months, perhaps years, after your one careless mistake.
All these perils are easily avoided if you pay attention to the signs and listen to the tour operators -
but I still think I will steer clear and stick to the sea turtles.
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