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| View from Kings Canyon Camp |
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| Looking into Kings Canyon |
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View from Rim Track
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A really good nights rest for me after our day's walking at The Olgas, so we were up early to head to Kings Canyon. We haven't had any real information about the camping there apart from the fact that we know there are two options, one about 40km before the Canyon, the other about 6km. We were a little concerned about getting there early (i.e. around mid-day), & with 304kms to travel it seemed sensible to be up & away. However, a funny thing happened - our stock of bread & butter were running low, so Stu suggested I walk the 2kms to the supermarket at Ylara while he was completing the packup. Fine, says I & set out on the track which we had walked the first day we arrived. I went at about MY 3/4 pace which is NOT slow, got the goods, took a couple of photos of plants, then set off on the return journey at FULL pace. At the end of the track I suddenly thought nothing was familiar, I should just cross the road to another track & a short distance along I would be there. No, that's not the way it panned out. Trying several different directions until I was totally disorientated, I finally went into one of the resort shops to ask, & the kind lady said 'just turn right here & the follow the track - it's not far along there'. OK, so that's what I thought I did - wrong again. I went down this road & that road, till I came to the residential area of what was obviously staff residences, was almost set upon by a dog, & finally found a kind gentleman to ask where I should go. Thankfully he gave me a lift to the supposed meeting place where Stu spitting blood wondering where I had been for an hour. So much for our early start but I lie not, it is the most confusing place even driving in a car & my good samaritan told me I wasn't the first & wouldn't be the last. I must admit I was getting to the panicking stage & no cellphone to use. Oh well, it was a beautiful cloudless day & the rest of the journey went well.
The drive into King's Canyon was lovely, with my lovely grasses prolific everywhere in all shades from sunbleached white, to cream, to golden yellow, & green. As you can tell I just love them. Lots of smaller trees & a distant escarpment of craggy hills. We did stop once for a late morning cuppa, then nonstop arriving at King's Canyon about 1.15pm. We passed by the first camp which we thought would be the cheaper of the two, but to do the walks would have meant driving 80km so we figured the savings would be eliminated by fuel, so pressed on to the resort itself hoping we would not be too late for a site. No worries, though most of the powered sites were taken. We opted to go unpowered as it was not so crowded in that part of the park & ended up with no 'neighbours' at all - we must have looked like lepers??? After a late lunch we did the canyon floor walk, only 2.4kms which took about an hour. It was not as beautiful as we had heard, only because there was an absence of water, so no waterfall & only one half dead cycad. That evening we attended a free show at the restaurant near the camp. It was performed by a couple of 'grey nomads' who obviously finance part of their travels this way. Aptly named 'The Roadies' they were a lot of fun, & much audience participation took place. And best of all it was FREE! Being on a budget we had dinner at 'home', but Stu bought a beer & I had a coffee.
Next morning we climbed the rim of the canyon, a distance of 6kms. The initial climb looks daunting, up many, many steep stone steps. Almost at the top it was a great view of the caravans & cars parked way down in the valley. Having seen people walking along the rim yesterday, we expected it to be quite flat & just views downward, so it was a pleasant surprise to be transported into another world of rock formations, different again from either Uluru or The Olgas. This is layered sandstone, 3 million years of change from huge sand dunes to the formations we see today. The Australians call it their mini Grand Canyon & it plunges 270 metres to the canyon floor. Though I have not had the priveledge of seeing the real Grand Canyon, from TV etc I would agree with the comparison. The colours & formations are beautiful, from domed, textured ones (called The lost city), which has had it's edges carved by sand & water erosion over time, to one sheer rock face which looks as if someone has taken a saw & sliced it. Then the piece de resistance, the aptly named 'Garden of Eden', way down at the bottom of the canyon with huge cycads about 400 years old & several permanent waterholes. This is accessed by a series of wooden bridges & stairways. At times there are also waterfalls, but not enough rain at present for that. Regardless, it provided a wonderful lunch stop for some of the walkers or just an excuse to linger in the tranquility. There are river red gums, bottle brushes, mistletoe grevillea, wattle & fig trees, indicating that long, long ago there was a much more tropical climate here. At about the half-way point is a large flat rock platform where it is possible to hear a wonderful echo to the Ozzie 'Cooee' call from way down in the canyon. I & about 8 other young foreign tourists did it together & it repeated back 3 times - great fun! This area has played an important role in the aboriginal life over thousands of years. We would rate this walk as one of the best we have done, not to mention that it is a photographers delight.
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| Sheer wall of canyon |
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| Domes along Rim Track |
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