Pastoralists in Western Australia's remote Murchison region are "smiling like hell" as much-welcome rainfall rejuvenates the country, but the downpour has cut off access for many homesteads.
More than 120mm of rain fell at Beringarra Station, west of Meekatharra, which saw water rising over roads and through paddocks.
While she was thrilled to see the rainfall event, the floodwaters forced Vikki Waters to miss her brother's wedding in York.
"It's been a pretty emotional time, but we've been trying to make the most of it with playing in the puddles," she said.
"The kids don't seem fussed, they absolutely love it."
Ms Waters said her dad was able to leave the station on a two-seated helicopter to attend the event, but there was not enough room for her husband and their three kids.
"We're just trying to look on the bright side and enjoy the rain while it's here and the after-effects are going to last for months, so we can't really complain," she said.
The Murchison River has started to flow, and Ms Waters said the creeks near Beringarra were up, meaning the family was likely to be cut off for some time.
Most significant event since 2011
The rainfall event saw totals of more than four times the average at some stations, according to Bureau of Meteorology's Jessica Lingard.
"The last time we really saw multi-day rainfall of this magnitude on some of these stations we're going back to February 2011," she said.
"A significant time period has passed since we've seen this sort of rainfall."
The relief comes after a dry few years for pastoralists in the region, with Doolgunna Station, 120 kilometres north-east of Meekatharra, reporting just 47mm of rain falling for the entire year in 2019.
Doolgunna Station has received 216mm in the past seven days — half its annual average — according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Pastoralists 'set up' for a good season
At Mount Clere Station, 200km north-west of Meekatharra, 93mm of rain fell over seven days, which owner Greg Watters said was unexpected.
"I'm smiling like hell out here; it's really good," he said.
"It's set us up really well for this year, I think."
Munarra and Killara Station, run by the Johns family, received 133mm and 180mm respectively in the last week of March.
Liam Johns said it had been almost a decade since they had seen such a significant fall.
"This is certainly the best start … that we've had for a very long time," he said.
'Excellent feed' for cattle
After flying across the properties, Mr Johns said it appeared there had not been much damage, but there was still water over the top of fences.
"There were some windmills and tanks with water nearly over the top of the tanks," he said.
"It's hard to say if boundary fencing is still standing or not … but as far as being saturated it's really good; that's what we wanted."
Mr Johns expected there would be "excellent feed" for the station's cattle.
"Everything will be well and truly fat and shiny by July onwards," he said.
The rainfall is expected to wrap up across the Murchison on Wednesday, and the Bureau of Meteorology forecast shows a drier-than-average autumn ahead for the region.
