Kings Canyon

There are two ways to get back to Alice Springs  from Uluru. You can backtrack on the highway (453 klm) or do a loop trip via Kings Canyon (675klm) including 200 klm of dirt road. So of course we opted for Kings Canyon, and a bit more 4WD adventure!!!

Arriving mid afternoon, from Yalara the day after the Sounds of Silence dinner to 41 degree heat, and a wind like a furnace, and having to get up at 5.00 am the next morning to do the 3-4 hour Rim Walk! We cheated and opted for a room for the night. She was basic - concrete room with a bed, fridge and a kettle. Share kitchen and amenities block BUT IT HAD AIRCON!!!! Dezzi settled in for an afternoon nap, and I hit the pool!

Our luxury accommodations.

Sunset view from the verandah.

Sunset on a part of the Kings Canyon

Feeling much refreshed after our big, cool sleep, we were up and at 'em for the challenge of Kings Canyon Rim walk.

The first section is climb  up the side of the mountain! Not for the feint hearted I can tell you!

But once up there - spectacular. It is a rocky walk / scramble. Simply magnificent. The best place we have been. So just like Uluru, I'll let the photos do the talking......

Every man and his tour guide were up there!

Once again the fly net hats were an absolute necessity !

Spectacular cycads. They were massive!

Dezzi enjoying the view, and the serenity, now we out climbed the tour groups :)

And then you have to get down!

This place is sooooooo stunning! 

Back to base for a shower and coffee fix and fuel up ready to tackle the 200 klm of dirt...

And the winner for the most expensive fuel is........KINGS CANYON!  OUCH !!!

The drive was a mixed bag. Some good, some corrugated and the last part, bloody awful!  But the landscape was soooooo worth it!

How do they survive?

Halfway there, and checking everything is holding together. All O.K.

Co-pilot looking sharp ha!

You see the weirdest things in the middle of nowhere. A tree covered in clothing. Go figure?

Albert Namatjira's house just outside Hermannsburg. For those who don't know who he is. Google him. It was tiny, and the floor inside crazy paved with rock and dirt! For someone so famous, he kept to his roots.

So we thought we survived the drive till we hit the bitumen and stopped for a check over.   Hmmmmm both shockies on the van done! A bit of bush mechanics to get us to Alice, and we're off again.

Very handy my Dezzi.  Are we glad we did it? YOU BET!