We had a lovely day out in Exmouth, the highlight of which was seeing the biggest jellyfish ever! I literally screamed when it floated went past, even thought I was on the dock and not even in the water! It was like seeing a monster – a massive multicoloured creature, the likes of which I had no idea even existed in UK waters. We saw about 30 in all, and we spent around an hour looking for them and trying to photograph them, shrieking in delight when another one floated past! We are simple people.
The jellyfish were about 2 foot across, and 3 foot long, which is extremely big for the UK. I have seen some scary-looking jellyfish in Florida and took precautions against the super-dangerous Irukandji jellyfish in Australia. So I can imagine monsters like this living in Australia, but in the UK?! Wow. I took photos and looked it up afterwards, and apparently they were Dustbin-Lid Jellyfish, the biggest jellyfish in UK waters. They can grow up to 90cm across, but their sting is only like a nettle so they are fairly harmless. Still – I wouldn’t want to come face-to-face with one of these while swimming! Continue reading
Big Fat Tourist 