Psychopandy

So, on a very recent trip to the delightful Bay of Plenty, my boys went for a wander in the water and came back rather quickly telling me they had seen jellyfish. Small drifting kind with red bits in the middle. are they dangerous? or a figment of an overactive imagination A short while later a man was shouting out just in from the waters edge (and while i thought he was shouting at someone else and ignored him) turned out he was pointing at a ray (want to call it a stingray but i didnt see it!)

He and a couple of other chaps ushered this 'ray' away but No1 son actually saw it as they were doing this - and having seen where the chap was pointing i could see quite clearly where it had been sat on the sand - didnt cause anyone any bother - it just went back out to sea.

Anyhow this small incident has now left No2 son with a bit of a worry about going back in the sea (as i speak he is googling the kinds of shark you get around these parts) he is prone to worrying and being a bit of a jessie but he is only 8 and i would like to see if anything you guys could say would help reassure him - please feel free to tell me if there is nothing to reassure him for as i would like to know then!!

So i guess my question is.. have any of you actually 'seen' anything interesting, nasty, dangerous, or just downright beautiful (not the human female kind guys either!!) in the shores off our coasts
Psycho x

Justcol

Met a guy running out of the sea as i was about to run in who told
me he was running as a 1.5meter Mako shark had just circled him twice
before it swam off.

Rays are harmless, from what i gather they are after the same fish as the
fisherman on the beeches.

I've also seen the remains of some rays that have had nice sharky bite
pieces missing from them.
Since we got here I have not heard of anyone being attacked or biten
by anything while in the sea

I wouldnt let your boy read this if i were you

Psychopandy

Well with pals like you eh!!!!

hes read it now so he will now doubt be wanting the lowdown tomorrow - youll be sorry!!!

pricklykina

Well yes, there are nasties...we can get lots of bluebottles or Portuguese Man o War jelly fish. A nasty sting but not fatal ( some say to wee on the sting but at least flush with water)
Then there are the sea lice (yuk)

MooMoo290373

Yes we have seen some jellyfish here too, but my main worry is that when ever i have come back from the beach a few hours later i notice im covered in bites, and i mean covered i had 19 up my arms the other week and quite a few on my legs, they are all itchy, and nasty, it has but me off going down the beach a bit as, i keep getting bitten, any ideas what is biting me.....anyone!!!!

Newfies

Sounds like sandflies! They linger around water and if you are a still target they love it. If you are moving ie walking stroling they then dont bother.

A bit of bug spray with 'DEET' in will deter the little blighters.

I like you am also covered. If you do get bit try not to scratch (I know it is near impposible not to) There is a cream from the pharmacy caled antihistan that is really good for soothing the bites.

kiwinow

If we could all see what was under us and just a bit further out we'd probably never go in the water again. Of course, there are nasties in the water, but it's rare to hear of shark bites (it's usually surfers that get bitten because they go further out and dress in seal-like clothing), our jellies aren't deadly and many of them don't even sting, rays leave you alone unless they feel threatened. Where we are in the south we have the occasional sickly sea lion that parks itself on the beach to recover for a few days, but they only hurt if you get too close.
However if someone comes running out of the sea saying they have been circled by a Mako shark, that would be a good time to exit the water.

Justcol

Or stroll back to the bach and get the beers out again

Am Loolah

It's these little blighters Ginny.

A liberal spray of Aeroguard of "Off" should work. You can find cans of these in the pharmacy or in the supermarket by all the fly sprays etc! And stay away from the soft, dry sand, so long as you remain within the water line you are less likely to get attacked!

I got stung on my arse by a jellyfish last summer. Clearly it mistook it for a large, threatening island. But it really didn't hurt too much - too much flesh for it to get through I guess.

bdclayton

Couldn't help myself just have to comment on this.
Nasties in the sea:
I know a little bit about water treatment and there are a few places i wouldn't swim in NZ after it has rained.
The storm water / rain water in NZ is not treated it goes straight to the
sea/ bay area that's why there is so much silt in the Bay area here in Tauranga its not removed when it rains
I will try not to get to technical but look for pipes leading into the sea these are storm water pipe its no untreated sewage just storm water.
and the fly's / bugs love these areas
So when it rains here plastic bottles / cigarette butts and all the grit and dirt in the street all ends up in the sea untreated. This was made illegal in the UK years ago.
Its not to much of a problem but i wouldn't swim in the sea the day after it rains.
Hope that makes sense ??

Cadibel

I got stung on my arse by a jellyfish last summer. Clearly it mistook it for a large, threatening island. But it really didn't hurt too much - too much flesh for it to get through I guess.[/QUOTE]




BTW I have been stung under my armpit twice by wasps (must be my deoderant!), so feel free to laugh at me!

Psychopandy

Thanks for all the responses guys - not sure they are gonna help my cause but information is power - and at least i know they arent likely to do him any permanent damage. ( i may though )

Keep em coming - Its fascinating x

Psycho x

I really wish i had got off my arse when the bloke started shouting - i would have loved to have seen the ray

BEVS

Yup. It does actually. Thanks for that.


We get rays coming into the estuary on the incoming tide to chase the fish. Sometimes orcas & sharks chase the rays. Not that I have ever seen them but we are told it happens.

MooMoo290373

Yes that is more than likely them!!!

The Jezzers

About 2 weeks ago I was out in the sea at Omanu, about waist deep and a bronze whaler shark {2.5m long] came towards me then swam off down the beach towards the Mount. The lifeguard told us just to stand still and the sharks will swim away. But that has not stopped me going in most days. You have more chance of being hit by a car as you cross the road, than being bitten by a shark.
My little girls aged 5, 8, 11, 13, are a little scared sometimes, but I just tell them to swim closer to other people and the sharks will bite the larger ones first. This seems to work and then they just run into the waves and forget about the sharks.
As for jelly fish I just take a bottle of white vinegar with me just incase.
But you can see if there are too many just stay out of the water for a day or two and the they drift away.
Rays are quite freindly and just swim away, just try not to stand on them. I tell my girls to shuffle in the sand if they see one and it will move away.
Enjoy the sea.