HOW DANGEROUS ARE MARINE STINGERS, AND WHEN IS STINGER SEASON?
Only a few species of marine stingers are very dangerous. Some of them will give you a nasty sting, and the box jellyfish and the irukanji jellyfish have, in rare cases, have proved fatal. They are found in the warm waters anywhere north of Bundaberg, and are more common along the beaches than around the reef and islands. The stinger season is from around November to May. During this time you should swim only inside the stinger enclosures at the beaches. You will find more information about marine stingers and other potentially dangerous marine life, including details of which Cairns beaches provide netted swimming enclosures, on our SAFE TRAVEL page.
