Kings Canyon

An early start this morning, as we had decided to do the Canyon Rim Walk, which we were told would take 4-5 hours. So after a good brekky for sustenance, our drinks and muesli bars in the backpack we packed up the vans and said goodbye to our red dirt campground.

There was a section of the carpark at the canyon allocated to cars with vans attached so this is where we left the vans with Jude to look after them.

Jeff, Laurie and myself started out for our next adventure, the 6km Rim Walk.

Kings Canyon in The Watarrka National Park is one of Australia's national treasures. It is often called Australia's Grand Canyon. On top of the canyon the cliffs are more than 300 metres high, descending down to "The Garden of Eden" and Kings Creek at the bottom.

The canyon has enchanted people for many years, in fact some parts of the gorge are sacred Aboriginal sites.  Kings Canyon has played an important role in Aboriginal life over thousands of years.

The Rim Walk begins with a challenging 500 step climb, but it is worth every step. Upon reaching the summit we marvelled at the views of Watarrka National Park and into the canyon itself. Every step we took and every turn we made we were in awe of it's beauty, it's strength, it's spirituality, and it's space.


Laurie scaling great heights

The breathtaking walk around the rim of the canyon allowed us to gaze down in awe at the sandstone chasm plunging 270 metres to the canyon floor. We ventured down into the depths of this chasm and
discovered luxuriant cycads, ferns and other lush plants around a permanent waterhole in The Garden of Eden, a very aptly named oasis in the desert. Timber stairs and a bridge provided access into the valley of waterholes and pools.


The awesome canyon



Jeff on the stairway to The Garden of Eden



Jeff on the very edge

There are many different rock forms throughout the canyon, one section which was a favourite to see was the eerie beehive shaped rock formations, appropriately called the Lost City, which resembles the ruins of some ancient Aztec city carved over time by water and wind erosion.


Laurie on top of the world

What a fantastic part of our country, what a fabulous walk, we all felt very privileged to have been able to enjoy it. Kings Canyon what a treat for our senses.

After three and a half hours of solid hiking our adventure came to the end, exhausted but filled with
awe we drove  on to the Kings Canyon Resort and campground for the night.

We decided to eat at the Outback BBQ and grill at the resort where we met up with several other couples who had also completed the Rim Walk today so we had plenty to talk about while we were being entertained by Rod Dowsett, the resident singer songwriter, and he was pretty good too.



Prices were a bit steep, but we enjoyed ourselves

Another great night on our Big Trip.