Australia Eguide - Travel Guides

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that inland one finds dry, dusty conditions unsuitable for much agriculture and only very
sparsely populated. Snow lies only in a small area around the border of New South Wales
and Victoria where the nation’s highest mountains are to be found, and also in some parts
of Tasmania.
The northern parts are quite different in climate, for they have not summer and winter,
but tropical Wet and Dry Seasons. Those unfamiliar with such a climate often
misunderstand the temperatures which accompany such seasons. The Wet is the hotter of
the two, while the Dry is pleasantly warm, but not overpoweringly hot. In between the
two is sandwiched a season generally known as the Build-Up, when humidity gradually
increases until it reaches almost 100% and temperatures too become higher and higher,
reaching the highest levels of the whole year, until one day the heavens open and general
relief is felt that the Wet has at long last started. If there is a season to avoid, it is the
Build-Up.
The Wet typically lasts from December until March, the Dry from April until August and
the Build-Up from September until November. Typical maxima might be 33ºC in the
Wet, 28ºC in the Dry and 36ºC in the Build-Up. This type of climate is coastal. As one
moves inland rainfall decreases and day temperatures tend to be higher.
Most people believe that the best time to be in the southern half of Australia is during the
summer or autumn, that is December until May, and the best time to be in northern
Australia is during the Dry, that is April until August. The torrential downpours at the
start of the tropical Wet Season, for example, are awe-inspiring sights. Just take the
weather as it comes and enjoy it.
However, if your main purpose is lying on the beach, it is worth noting that from July
until November you would be better off in the northern part of Australia, and also that the
tropical Wet Season will limit access to places off the main routes. Also note that the
north and north-west are prone to some very fierce cyclones during the Wet.
On the topic of climate, some of the Australian records are interesting and surprising. For
example, which capital city has recorded the highest temperature When asked this
question, many people guess Darwin. However, in fact all of the other seven capital
cities, even Hobart (40.8ºC, 105.4ºF), have recorded higher temperatures than Darwin’s
40.5ºC (104.9ºF) on 17th October 1892. The capital city with the highest temperature is
actually Adelaide with 47.6ºC (117.7ºF) on 12th January 1939. The highest temperature
ever recorded anywhere in Australia was 53.1ºC (127.6ºF) in Cloncurry, Queensland on
16th January 1889. In recent years, the validity of this record has been challenged, since
it was a while ago and the equipment used would not satisfy today’s standards. However,
most people still regard this as the record. The Meteorological Office, however, is
prepared to vouch only for the 50.7ºC (123.3ºF) recorded in Oodnadatta, South Australia
on 2nd January 1960.
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