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.
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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.