Exchange Lifeguard Stung Into Action By Mates
Illawarra Mercury
Thursday January 17, 2008
A BLUEBOTTLE sting was something to write home about for Canadian Peter Cove, who is in the Illawarra for the surfing season.
The 21-year-old, an exchange lifeguard from Novo Scotia, had never heard of bluebottles until he arrived here last month.He said he was mystified by the people running from the sea at Towradgi complaining about the stings."I didn't know what was going on so the boys here let me experience it first-hand by putting a stinger on my skin," he said."It was pretty painful and lasted a lot longer than our jellyfish stings at home."Mr Cove said Wollongong had a great reputation among his colleagues at home. He said he had found beachgoers here welcoming - up to a point."There are still those who don't appreciate being told to swim between the flags but that seems to be the case in most parts of the world," he said.His Australian jaunt will continue well after his Towradgi stint ends."It's still 26 degrees below freezing (at home) so I'm staying on and hoping to hook up with a Canadian mate to do a surfing tour of Queensland beaches," he said.
© 2008 Illawarra Mercury