A surprise early start to the wet season in the Northern Territory has meant many favourite grey nomad haunts have been closed … but there are compensations.
The NT News reports that, with more than 150mm of rain falling in the region in the past fortnight, Kakadu National Park has seen a ‘once in a generation’ soaking, smashing its previous September rainfall record of 81mm set in 1984.
Due to unsealed tracks and threat of crocodiles, many of the park’s main attractions have been closed by the deluge. NT Police had to temporarily close notorious croc hangout Cahills Crossing due to the rain, with the river swelling up to 2 metres high. Park rangers are also working to reopen Maguk and Gunlom for day-use only.
Despite the issues, park manager Pete Cotsell says the waterfalls are spectacular … if you can get to them.
“Heavy rain and flash flooding may mean you can’t physically walk around some of our sites at the moment – such as Jim Jim and Twin Falls and Gunlom – but from the air you can take in this once in a generation experience,” he told the NT News. “The reality is that it would be more than a fortnight before waters would drop to a level where we could even attempt to safely start crocodile surveys in these areas or repair damaged infrastructure for visitors including roads.
He said the early onset of the wet season was disappointing in some ways after what has been one of the better dry seasons.
“But there’s still plenty to see,” he said. “Rain is always good for fishing, wet season hikes, flights, cruises and we’ve also got a school holiday program happening with ranger guided walks, traditional arts and crafts and other cultural experiences.”
• Are you in Kakadu at the moment? Has the deluge caught you by surprise? Comment below.
