WE HAVE RAIN!!

Over here the temperature in the Top End is sub-tropical, meaning we don't have the usual 4 seasons, but rather we just have the 'wet' and the 'dry' seasons.  Right now we are heading into the Wet season and it lasts most of the NZ summer. The build up to the wet is quite awful, hot and sticky due to the increased humidity before the rain finally arrives. Once we have rain, then it's tropical storms with rain on and off, interspersed between the sunshine and hot sticky temperatures. Tropical storms actually look amazing when off in the distance and they make for beautiful photos.

Tonight in Katherine, we had our first rain storm for this beginning wet season and the first rain here since March. It's almost like you want to run outside and do a little dance like they often do on TV, but I managed to restraint myself.

As Katherine is not a Coastal town the heat is around 5 degrees hotter than in Darwin but the humidity is quite a bit less. We also aren't as vulnerable to cyclones in the same way Darwin is, but those cyclones can cause flash flooding in our rivers here and in turn flood the town.  Therefore, they actively have flood plans in place and practice disaster management here. Remember a flood here is not the same as in NZ as their rivers are full of crocs and snakes.

Currently, we still have sunshine every day but the temperature has begun rising each week. These last couple of weeks has seen Katherine having highs of between 37-40 degrees each day and even the night is warm at around 24-27 degrees.  So sleeping here now requires the air-con and a fan to be left on and me sleeping with only a sheet. Can't say I miss the cold damp winter of NZ however.



Tropical Storm taken from Katherine, NT.



Both of these photos are taken from Darwin.







Sunset from Katherine, NT.


Of course the 'dry' here occurs over the NZ winter and becomes the tourist season here as it's sunshine everyday, and no rain for months with temps in the low 30 degrees. Perfect holiday weather with the most beautiful sunsets I've seen.

It's the school holidays now in New Zealand and I am heading off to the Gold Coast for 7 nights where I will be meeting my husband and the kids who are flying over from NZ.  We are staying in a hotel directly overlooking the beach and plan to visit all the Theme Parks and attend a few shows. So as you can imagine we are all quite excited as this is the first family holiday to the Gold Coast. I am little worried, I might find it quite cold going from the climate here, where I don't own a jersey, to there. For my kids and husband it will be a welcomed surprise however.
Anyway, with daylight savings starting in NZ again tonight, I realise that we are now back to being 3 1/2 hours behind NZ again.  They don't do daylight savings here, so it's dark all year around at about 7pm and light around 6am. It's a shame really, as in the dry it would be nice to have some BBQ's in the evening or to go for walks while it's still light, without getting eaten alive or being pooed on by bats.