Tourists warned over record breaking heat in northern WA

ABC NEWS (Australia)

In the Kimberley region in Western Australia, tourists are taking extra precautions to stay safe in unseasonal heat. Yesterday Australia's winter temperature record was broken in the region -- with 41.6 degrees recorded at Yampi sound.

Transcript

00:00For half the year, especially in the build-up and wet season, temperatures that sit between

00:0538 and 41 or 42 degrees are pretty common in Kununurra, but this is August.

00:11August is the time of year when the weather's pretty reliable.

00:14It might get to the late 20s or the early 30s, clear blue skies and not a drop of rain.

00:19So it's been really bad luck for tourists to come up here at the moment and for the

00:24weather to stubbornly sit in those high 30s and even reaching 40 degrees yesterday.

00:29And so I even spoke to some tourists this morning and we talked about the records being

00:33broken and while they definitely put on a brave face, it is, like I said, really bad

00:38luck.

00:39People plan a lot to come up to the Kimberley.

00:41It's a huge trip, it's an expensive trip and it's a very outdoor sort of place.

00:45So people want to be getting out and about and seeing that amazing scenery.

00:49So have really high temperatures, especially for people who may have come from southern

00:53parts of Australia and aren't used to them.

00:56It does throw up some really interesting dilemmas for tour guides.

01:00So I was down at Ivanhoe Crossing this morning and it's a place where many tourists come

01:08to see.

01:09It's a lovely spot.

01:10You might be able to see a crocodile and people were down there nice and early so they could

01:13beat the heat and I spoke to one tourist and I also spoke to a tour guide and they talked

01:20about how they're trying to rally together and do those little things to deal with this

01:24unseasonable heat that we're getting at the moment.

01:27We started at Fitzroy Crossing, we've been to the Bungle Bungles, we're now in Kununurra

01:35and the temperature's got out of control.

01:38Keeping the aircon on the bus, worked up and then just really drumming into the passengers

01:44the need for hydration.

01:45So making sure they're constantly drinking little bits of water and just trying to work

01:49with it as much as possible.

01:51Get up early, get out there and do some of the walks as early as we can.

01:55One thing when I've spoken to residents and especially authorities as well, people are

01:59worried about, especially those on the Gibb River Road.

02:01The Gibb River Road is this famous outback dirt road that goes through the Kimberley

02:06and you get to see amazing gorges and go on walks and it's already, it can be already

02:11a risky place when the temperatures are normal for people who are outdoors and need to stay

02:15hydrated but at these high temperatures when people feel compelled to go out and see these

02:20amazing places, then what people have been speaking to have been urging those normal

02:25Kimberley warnings to drink lots of water, to drink plenty of water and really avoid

02:29that extreme heat, especially if you're an older person and if you just look at some

02:33of the Facebook pages for the Gibb River Road where travellers are talking to each other.

02:37Some people have packed up and headed back south, they've found the heat too hard to

02:41deal with.

02:42Others have been trying to get out as early as possible in the morning doing the walks

02:45at 5.30 or 6am.

02:48So this is a really difficult thing for tourists who might have been planning this trip for

02:53many years to come up to the Kimberley and manage to cop these record breaking winter

02:59temperatures.

03:00Although I should clarify we don't really use the word winter in the Kimberley, it is

03:03the dry and wet season but it is a record number less.

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