Idyllic and deceptive

Things are not always as they seem; the first appearance deceives many.

- Phaedrus -

---

---

It looks amazing right? The ocean glistening with blue aqua and green contrasting against a deep blue sky dotted with white clouds and a hint of golden Australian sand...it's all just waiting for you to step through the palm trees onto the warm sands, to feel the crunch of it beneath your bare feet and that first rush of water as it swirls around your legs.

It's a typical Australian beach and the word idyllic comes to mind.

This is Palm Cove, near Cairns, in the far north of the Australian state of Queensland; it's a tropical region nestled between dense rainforest and the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. This is a beautiful location and I was lucky enough to be visiting family there a week or so ago. We went to Palm Cove as my nephew wanted to play on the sand and I wanted to play with him...despite my hatred for sand. That shows how much I love my nephew folks.

But here's the thing...It wasn't so idyllic at all, looks can be, and are, deceptive.

It was a pretty windy day, not enough to whip up the sand making it impossible to walk or play on the beach, but uncomfortably windy. It picked up a little, becoming a squall, whilst we had lunch although it brought no rain which was something at least. Being a tropical region the area is prone to cyclones in the wet season (summer) which is almost over now, and whilst it's always hot, one has to expect wind and rain at this time of year. It didn't stop us from doing what we wanted throughout my vacation though, and Palm Cove was an enjoyable day.

There was almost no one on the beach and no one in the water which may seem strange to someone visiting but there's a very good reason for it. You see, being a tropical region means there's things that bite and sting in the water, and sometimes up on the beaches, so vigilance is required and generally the only people swimming are tourists - Locals generally know better.

Salt water crocodiles are deadly hunters and around these parts they're prolific.

They live, in their thousands, primarily in freshwater estuaries in the rainforest but are equally comfortable at sea and have even been found a couple hundred miles out to sea. They grow out to around 5 metres (about 17 feet), are clever, stealthy, fast and indiscriminate...Humans are on the menu.

Further to the crocodile issue is the marine stinger situation; it's debatable which is worse I guess. Being rent to pieces by the death-roll of a 5m crocodile and swallowed or the agonising pain of being stung by marine stingers. Both often end predictably, with death, but which way would you prefer?

I snapped the image of the chart below which is displayed at the Surf Lifesaving hut. I'm not sure you'll be able to read the smaller text but it'll give you an idea of what lurks around the place, not all off Palm Cove though.

The Box Jellyfish (below - top left) is very present though and is the most dangerous, although all of them are going to mess up your day, and possibly future life, pretty well. You can see how long its stingers are in the image compared to a human and if you can read the text it'll tell you how messed up an encounter with one of these things is going to leave you.

The Irukandji is also lurking around and, whilst it (possibly) won't kill you, its sting hurts, a lot. It's agonising. Interestingly it's small, smaller than a human hand, in comparison to the Box Jellyfish which is as long as a human is tall. Becoming entangled in these stinger tentacles is bad news though, that's the long and short of it.

I used to live in Cairns, just a few kilometres down the road from Palm Cove, and it was common to hear about jellyfish and crocodile events; they are commonplace. The thing is, they are avoidable; don't go in the water. Of course, people don't always listen to good advice so some suffer the consequences.

It's really strange to be on a beach like this, in a location that's so beautiful but so deadly. Looking around at the idyllic setting but knowing how deceptive it is messes with one's head.

Australia has a reputation of having many things on the land and in the water that will mess up a person permanently, or temporarily. Most are usually very painful and should be avoided and sometimes it's completely possible to do so. That's not always the case though and accidents happen.

What I find incredibly interesting, is why a person would ignore a crocodile and marine stinger board (which are huge and prominently placed everywhere) and risk a lot of pain and possible death just to dip their toes in the water. Each to their own though I guess...For me, I'll stay on the beach. What would you do?