For some grey nomads, catching the tail end of the season is the best time to be on the road.
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Despite the heat building to unbearable levels, Keith and Denise Kirkwood-Ryan are among many taking advantage of quieter parks and deserted roads.
"We try to avoid peak season times," Mrs Kirkwood-Ryan said today.
The couple from Cairns arrived in Katherine on Monday, and like most all other nomads, have a story of the same theme: sick of the daily grind, they packed up and hit the road.
Their long slow lap of Australia started in 2009, but was put on hold when Mr Kirkwood-Ryan was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, voltage gated potassium channel antibody limbic encephalitis to be exact.
He was the 51st person in the world to be diagnosed with the disease, after a simple cut on his foot from a barnacle became infected.
What followed was five tough years of rehabilitation.
"It impacted my memory, speech, mood, everything. I couldn't even remember how to turn on a computer," he said.
"As soon as I got better, I thought there was no point in wasting time not doing the things we love. It was a huge motivator to get travelling again, and I will be on the road until I can't do it any more."
They are among thousands upon thousands who revel in the freedom of travel, and many who are choosing to stay on the road longer and later.
"There are still a lot of caravans on the road, but the heat coming now might be the tipping point," Mrs Kirkwood-Ryan said.
"We don't mind travelling in the heat as long as there is a pool or a swimming spot, and lots of other people are doing the same."
While it may appear the nomads have begun their migration south now their winter is over, the new managers of Riverview Motel and Caravan Park, Tony and Fiona Young said visitors numbers stand at a steady flow.
"The numbers are very good for September, they are not very different from August, which is still peak time," Mrs Young said.
"We are still getting about 30-40 caravans most days.
"People think Katherine is transient but actually there is a lot to do and they talk on the road."
The new managers moved from Broome just three weeks ago and said more people were choosing to travel late in the season.
"Instead of coming in April they would come in June," Mr Young said.
"But Katherine is heating up, so we can foresee we will start to see a drop off in numbers."
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