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| Swim among jellyfish illuminated by spectacular shafts of light |
Jellyfish Lake is one of around 70 marine lakes
scattered throughout a limestone archipelago in
the Pacific pockmarked with sink-holes and porous
with caves and tunnels cut by flowing fresh water
during past ice ages, Ongeim’l Tketau can only be
accessed by traversing a ridge that separates the
lake from the surrounding lagoon. Rope guides
highlight the path and provide added stability on a
rocky jungle terrain rich in lizards, snakes and birds.
Climb onto a mossy wooden dock to look out onto
waters filled with 1o-million golden jellyfish that
follow the path of the sun as it crosses the lake.
Sunlight is an essential element in the lives of the golden jellyfish, which derive their colour and much of their energy from intracellular algae.
as the rises, the jellyfish begin their migration in the
western basin, where they overnight to reach the
furthest illuminated edges of the eastern basin by
mid-morning. They then reverse their course to return to the western basin by mid-aafternoonto
complete 1 km (0.6 mile) trip that keeps them in the
sun and away from the predatory anemone in
the dark edges of the lake. Thousands of visitors arrive
Ongeim'l Tketau to swim among the jellyfish, sponges,
sea squirts, mussels, anemones, and algae spectacularly illuminated by the beams of sunlight. Contrary to popular belief, the jellyfish aren't
“stingless” but their stinging cells (nematocysts) are so tiny that the sting is almost impossible to detect. Avoid touching the jellyfish, as this can damage them.
