Kings Canyon

On 21.09, which was day 5 of our Red Centre Tour, we arrived at Watarrka National Park, where Kings Canyon is located. Since we left Ayers Rock Resort at noon, it was already late afternoon (after all, it was 300 km) and we had planned to stay overnight at a free rest area outside the park. But somehow, Wikicamps once again fooled us and the marked spot did not exist (just like at Uluru). A bit further was Kings Creek Station, where we asked about the prices. They wanted 43 AUD for two people for an unpowered site!! Quite steep. Especially because everything looked pretty run-down there. The petrol was also very overpriced, over 2 AUD per liter, and even the fly nets cost 12 AUD each there. Everything was expensive. The woman wasn't even nice, so we left and drove to Kings Canyon Resort. It couldn't get any worse and we would be closer to the canyon for the excursion the next day.

The resort looked nice, we paid 40 AUD per night (at least a bit less) and there was even a sunset viewing area where you could watch the setting sun turn the mountain range of Kings Canyon red. After Uluru and Kata Tjuta, it didn't impress us that much anymore :D

For dinner, I had chicken noodle soup with broken noodles. It felt really good. Andi had pasta with tomato sauce. Luckily, the night wasn't as cold as the previous one near Uluru. But since I wasn't feeling well, we couldn't do anything anyway, so we went to bed after dinner.

The next morning, I actually felt better. At least not everything was hurting anymore (just my legs, but I think that was from the long hikes the previous days). The runny nose and dry throat were still there. First, we took a hot shower. That always helps. Then we had a leisurely breakfast, washed up, and packed our stuff together. Then we headed to the canyon.

There were already a lot of cars in the parking lot and we had to park at the overflow car park. Then we went to the info shelter where there was free WiFi, and I got information about the walks while Andi took care of some organizational matters regarding his bachelor's certificate. Actually, we had planned to do the Rim Walk (a loop) that goes up one side of the canyon, along it, and leads to several beautiful spots inside the canyon, and then goes down over a bridge and the other side of the canyon. It was 6 km long (3-4 hours) and very strenuous because it was constantly going up and down. But you have great views and can explore the entire canyon. However, due to my health condition, we had to cancel the walk. I simply wouldn't have been able to do it and it wouldn't have made sense.

But then I discovered the South Wall Walk, which goes up the side of the canyon that is not as steep, where you still have a great view of the gorge from above, and then you simply go back down. It was only 4 km long and supposed to take 2 hours. So we chose that one and took it slow. But it went quite well. And the walk was really beautiful! On the way up, we had a great view of the surrounding landscape and later a superb view into the canyon and the opposite wall. Kings Canyon is the largest gorge in Australia and probably famous for that reason. It looks really impressive too. I'm glad we could see it from above. It's not particularly long and at the end, it narrows down to a small slit that you can jump over. There is also another canyon branching off from there with permanent waterholes. Down in Kings Canyon, there are lots of plants, almost like a jungle, and of course, animals. In the gorges of the Red Centre, many rare plants often accumulate down there because the right climate prevails. On the plains or at the top of the gorges, there is strong wind, the sun burns, and rain seeps into the ground. Water collects at the bottom of the gorge, it is shady, and everything can thrive. During our visit, everything was pretty green again, even at the top, but you could still see the difference to the forest at the bottom.

After having lunch at the top of the canyon and then descending, we walked a short section of the Creek Walk. That would have been the other alternative walk, but it only goes along the bottom of the canyon and is not so spectacular. But this way, we also experienced the feeling in the canyon. The only thing that was somehow annoying were the helicopters that flew over the canyon every 10 minutes. Helicopter scenic flights are available everywhere, you can see Uluru, Kata Tjuta, the MacDonnell Ranges etc. from above for a good amount of money. But when helicopters are constantly flying over you, it's pretty loud and a bit annoying.

When we had seen everything, it was around 4:30 pm and we drove back to the resort. There we got the permission for the Mereenie Loop, the road that leads through Aboriginal land and requires a fee of 5.50 AUD. We spent the night on a free campground further up the road because we didn't want to pay another 40 AUD for a night at the resort. The campground was at a lookout and the view there was really awesome. This time, the night was actually quite warm and we could see the stars very well. It was really beautiful. The only downside was that there was no toilet, but we managed somehow :D For dinner, we had pancakes. We wanted to try it out and it worked really well. The flour was from our predecessor and it was a "self-rising" one, so our pancakes turned out fluffy :D We had either cheese or sugar/honey/nutella with them. It was very tasty :)

The next day, the journey continued. I'll tell you about it in the next entry :)