A crocodile sighting has forced a far north Queensland beach to close as life savers on the Sunshine Coast recover from the worst marine stinger inundation in recent memory.
Bluebottles stung 1504 beachgoers at the weekend on beaches north of Brisbane, with another 914 copping stings on Surf Life Saving Queensland-patrolled Gold Coast beaches.
![Bluebottle stings were widespread.](/web/20170117081051im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/2/f/t/s/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gts9il.png/1484537755117.jpg)
North-easterly winds brought the creatures south, with Mooloolaba, Maroochydore, Kirra and Coolangatta all particularly badly affected.
Surf Life Saving Queensland surf communications co-ordinator Tim Wilson said southern beaches had cleared up on Monday as the wind turned but the bluebottles would likely return later in the week.
![A crocodile was spotted off Mission Beach.](/web/20170117081051im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/3/m/4/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gts9il.png/1484537755117.jpg)
A continuation of those winds would likely keep the painful floaters around south-east Queensland beaches for most of the month on and off, he said.
Mr Willson suggested a large number of bluebottles in the water could have combined with tens of thousands of people heading to the beach to avoid the stinking hot end to school holidays to make the situation worse.
"It's been a pretty heavy year for the stingers. last year we didn't have many stings," he said.
"The year before there was probably the odd day when you'd maybe get 200 stings for the day, and that was probably one day out of the whole summer.
"But yeah, nothing like 700 in one day. That hasn't happened for a few years at least."
The weekend was eventful for life savers all over Queensland as a shark sighting closed Tallebudgera and Burleigh beaches while box jellyfish closed swimming spots near Mackay.
On Monday morning, beachgoers spotted a crocodile swimming out to sea at Mission Beach, south of Innisfail, forcing that beach to close.
North Queensland lifeguard supervisor Jay March said it was rare to see a crocodile on the beach and urged tourists and locals to be careful.
He said the reptile was believed to be about three metres long and Department of Environment and Heritage Protection officers had been called to help.