When Danny Carter floats in a pandanus and paperbark-ringed pool and gazes up at water cascading down an orange sandstone cliff, his thoughts untangle into nothing.
It is waterfall season in the East Kimberley, and this year the photographer and videographer says it is especially welcome after a particularly punishing, three-month build-up that brought temperatures regularly exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.
"The ancientness and sacredness of the landscape, seeing it when it's dry, and seeing that water come through, is like a breath of fresh air," he said.
"I just sit there and close my eyes and go: 'This is why I live here'. That's what will keep me here until the day I die, as long as the water keeps flowing."
The resident of 13 years said the abundance and proximity of world-class waterfalls encouraged much-needed workers to settle permanently in the outback town.
The local education worker said the natural gems helped residents deal with the stress and trauma of the remote town's long-term social problems.
"It's not an easy place to live in at times," Mr Carter said.
"When that water comes it just seems to wash all the yuckiness away like a rebirthing and starting over again."
Big rains bring road closure
But often, after a heavy dump of rain, the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley will close Valentine Spring Road, which provides access to more than a dozen waterfalls, namely Black Rock Falls (Thegooyeng) and Middle Spring (Mayiba).
Mr Carter and other frustrated locals say it means they often miss the chance to see the falls, about half an hour's drive from the town, while they are "pumping".
"When you've been here long enough and you get addicted to chasing waterfalls … you want to see them when they're at their peak," he said.
Mr Carter put a poll on a community Facebook page this month asking residents whether they wanted the shire to look at improving wet season access along the road, despite the potential burden on ratepayers.
Kununurra Visitor Centre general manager Vivienne McEvoy was among the few hundred people who responded and said she supported the notion.
"Let's talk about it instead of putting it on the 10th page of an agenda item," she said.
"Let's put it up the page a little bit more."
Ms McEvoy said it had been difficult informing tourists, excited to see the region's waterfalls, that some of the best were periodically inaccessible except via helicopter tour.
She said improving the road's condition would help the industry's overall goal to attract more visitors to Kununurra during the wet season — a much quieter time compared to the normal dry season rush.
"We've got a lot of operators who are sitting around and people twiddling their thumbs," Ms McEvoy said.
"So to try and encourage more people to come and visit this time of the year would be fantastic."
Shire considers road upgrade
Wyndham East Kimberley Shire chief executive Vernon Lawrence said he was open to improving the road to reduce the frequency of closures.
But he said such a project would cost tens of millions of dollars and need a state government or Commonwealth contribution.
He said the dirt road would need to be raised to prevent heavy rain from waterlogging it.
"In previous years we used to close it for months and months, but [now] we try and open it as quickly as possible," Mr Lawrence said.
"We do recognise if we're going to attract tourists here during the wet season to visit all these waterholes then we're going to have to invest some money in those roads."
Mr Lawrence said while the shire had yet to formally seek grant money for an upgrade, it would consider it in future planning.
Mr Carter said such a project could help people in the future further enjoy what he relished now.
"You've got Middle Springs, which kind of cascades down. I always used to sit at the bottom pool and … I'd wonder what's up here," he said.
"I walked up to all the different levels and I was continually blown away. I personally think they're world-class"