Tourists flock to see ‘rare and magical’ weather event at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
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A rare waterfall scene has been spotted in the Northern Territory’s national park when more than 22mm of rain fell on the outback, causing rock holes to overflow and gushing water to fall down the sides of Uluru and Kantju Gorge.
Locals and tourists braved the wet conditions in the area just to catch a glimpse of the ‘unique weather event’.
So much water had flowed down to Kaṉtju Gorge that the viewing platform was almost underwater. Photo from Parks Australia.
“While that doesn’t sound like much, the annual average rainfall is just under 300mm,” Parks Australia wrote in a Facebook post.
“With a hot summer ahead, the rain is welcome, and locals are hoping for more of it over the coming months.”
As the waterfall’s stream gushed down Australia’s big red heart, countless native burrowing frogs came out of hiding, making strange, deafening calls.
“After 22mm of rain overnight, these noisy creatures which sound like sheep are in frog heaven,” the post read.
“For most of the year, these frogs are underground, avoiding hot and dry conditions. They emerge after rain to breed, feed and return underground to evade perishing in the harsh weather conditions.”
“They call profusely after enough rain has fallen to entice them from their burrows.”
The rain came after scorching October temperatures in the NT and Queensland. Local meteorologists reported a two-degree increase in average temperatures.
Reports from the Bureau of Meteorology stated that October was hotter than usual for Australia as a whole. Every state, except Victoria, noticed significantly hotter-than-usual weather.
The state of Queensland experienced its fourth-warmest October since recording, with an average increase of 2.12 degrees.
The NT experienced an increase of 2.11 degrees, its third-warmest October ever.
On October 4, Brisbane recorded its hottest October day since 2004 with a temperature of 36.6C, while Darwin went through its warmest-ever October night on record on October 20 with the temperature sitting at 26.6C.
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