Day 19: On the road in the Outback - Kings Canyon

We don't have to get up as early as yesterday, but since we have a long drive ahead of us, we can't really sleep in. After breakfast, we pack our things in the car and set off. We're heading east on the Lasseter Highway. The highway is easy to drive - you can even go up to 110 km/h and there's very little traffic. It's about 300 km to our destination, Kings Canyon.

After about a third of the way, we spot a large mesa. Shortly after, there's a lookout by the roadside: Mt. Conner. That must be the mesa - there's not much else around here. On the other side of the small hill, there's a dried-up lake bed.

We continue on - not much variety. That doesn't change even when we turn onto Luritja Road.

Just before reaching the destination, we saw the first ridges of Kings Canyon.
We park at the Trailhead and start walking - the Kings Canyon Rim Trail. It starts with rock stairs steeply uphill. Once at the top, the kids decide it's time for lunch. The trail continues along the northern rim. Along the way, there are spectacular views into the canyon. It somewhat resembles Waimea Canyon in Kauai.

At the end of the canyon, we descend stairs and ascend on the other side in the same way. At the bottom, a side path leads to the Garden of Eden. The kids don't feel like joining and stay at the stairs. We walk the short distance to a waterhole surrounded by surprisingly lush greenery.

We continue up the southern side of the canyon and back along it to the parking lot. We're back at the bottom after 2.5 hours. Due to the nature of the rocks - consisting of successive layers - the entire trail was essentially just (almost always) natural steps.

The last part of the drive to Kings Canyon Resort is quickly done. We have a lodge room for today, basically camping with a solid roof over our heads.

Right behind our cabin is a boardwalk with a view of Kings Canyon. In the evening, you can also pay to watch a light installation there.

Since we have a long way ahead of us tomorrow, including several kilometers off-road, we prefer to refuel - at the bargain price of $2.90 per liter! For dinner, we had pizza and pasta at the resort bar.

For the record: Accommodation: Kings Canyon Lodge Distance driven: 319 km Distance walked: 10 km Weather: Sunny at 20°C