The Last Swim of Summer

The last swim of summer looms in the future. Everything passes, and so will this month, with its heat and discomfort. We are on a collision course with time; no matter how we try to avoid it, it will take us into the future.

In winter, it is too cold to swim in waterholes. The frozen fingers of ice grip the mornings, and the wind creates gooseflesh. It will come inevitably, and the last swim of summer will mean that the waters of the Central Desert are too cold to dip into anymore, and they bring a chill to the bones rather than refreshment.

Emily Gap after rain, February 2023

The climate has been up and down over the past few years. Winters have seemed warmer, and the summers colder. Where it is usually dry, the rain has pummelled down, forcing the temperature to drop. But in the middle of this chaos, on several occasions after a downpour, we have had enough hot weather to enjoy the temporary swell in the waterholes local to Alice. A quick day trip, a jaunt down the highway, and we find a place to swim.

Some of us long for the last swim of summer; the heat has become a burden. But others like the blinding sun of an outback summer, the gatherings by the pools in town, and the clear nights. It does not matter what your preference may be. The cycle of the seasons will turn, the last swim of summer will occur, and then 2023 will carry us into winter, which has its own beauty. Lock summer into your memory; everything passes, and it will, too.