marnic0

Hello,

My fiance and I are currently planning our honeymoon in late November. We are considering Australia, but want to be sure that the weather, water temperature, etc, are what we are expecting. We are hoping for a beach getaway combined with some adventure, and in particular would love to snorkel or scuba near the Great Barrier Reef. We are concerned that this might be Box Jellyfish season, as well....
Any insigh is appreciated!

chimani

What bit of Australia, exactly, were you considering. Makes a difference.

What sort of water temperature were you expecting?

What's your definition of adventure?

As for the Box Jellyfish - well yes, late Nov qualifies as stinger season in FNQ. But please note they are not present on the reef itself.

You could look at Lizard island or Heron Island. Never been to either - and if adventure means white water rafting, caving, that sort of thing, you are unlikely to find that there. But if adventure means how you get there, and if helicopters, boat trips fit the bill - well, go reseach.

marnic0

Thanks for the response. I was thinking of Queensland/Cairns and hoping for water warm enough to swim in, without a wetsuit. Maybe in the 70's fahrenheit? (Although we'd definitely wear them on the reef...) By adventure, I just meant outdoor activities like hiking, cayaking, caving, etc. I was concerned that the beaches might be shut down in November but have heard varying bits of information on this.

Thanks.

Louise

Here's some information from a couple different websites - "the season for box jellyfish starts with the onset of the wet season usually around October until April". And "box jellyfish frequent the Australian northern ocean all year around but are particularly dangerous during the wet". I had heard that they breed in the rivers and are washed to the ocean when the rains occur.

pat_woolford

The season for box jelly fish can vary according to location, its generally shorter in southern areas of GBR and longer in northern. Now marnico has mentioned that she's interested in Cairns area, its pretty well safe to assume that season will start November 1 - the stinger nets are still out now in April, and according to local paper they won't be brought in in near future.

Box jelly fish (chironex fleckeri) are most unlikely to be found on Great Barrier Reef, they breed in coastal estuaries and mangroves and are usually found up to 100 metres of coast. Beaches which are life-saver patrolled with stinger nets (many aren't) are "dragged" every morning and beach will be closed if there's any stinger or crocodile presence.

A quarter of a million people live in Cairns and Townsville areas alone and millions of tourists visit yearly - the amount of box jelly fish stings is infintesimal. Because people take precautions, its very easy to wear a lightweight lycra stinger suit which will protect from sunburn, a far likelier danger anyway.

November, marnico, is usually a terrific month to visit GBR, its well after the winter south easterlies and before the onset of wet season, which lately starts in late January, not October as mentioned above. Area is also well set up for adventure activities.

marnic0

Thanks Pat and Louise - you've both been very helpful!