Kings Canyon

On the way out of the Uluru area you have the chance to take a detour to Kings Canyon. Because it involves a bit of back tracking, it often gets over looked but it is well worth the effort. Folk towing with a 4 wheel drive have the option to take a dirt track that cuts off a couple of hundred clicks but we don’t and we prefer not to stress the van by doing so anyway.

The caravan park here is beautiful with plenty of shade and a great view of the ranges that the canyon is located in. It also is the first place we have stayed that has a Dingo problem. These wild dogs are not inclined to bail you up but they are able to pinch item they feel are edible. This includes shoes of all things. While we were there a dingo tried to drag off a BBQ hot plate and one even grabbed a bag out of the car of a newly arrived camper. The rest of us had a good laugh watch the owner chasing after their belongings.

The other odd thing here was no radio coverage and no Next G cover for the phone but they did have a couple of TV stations on relay. Having to watch those shallow Good Morning programs for news coverage is really roughing it as far as I’m concerned. Despite the limitations in radio, if we had had phone cover we would have stayed there longer. The vibe was very nice.

The main feature for staying is, of course, the canyon walk that tracks along the top of the canyon wall. The view as you approach is challenging. It starts with 630 steps up a very steep ridge. Go Liz. The good news is this is the toughest part of the trail so if you can stand the height here you are cool for the rest of it. There are a few places that are steeper but they have solid wooden stairs in place.

This is another area that requires a bit of common sense when moving about. There are no barriers to how close you can get to the edge of the steep cliffs and more than once we were worried by folk trying for that extra special photo that had them on the lip. I’m not sure why they do this. The photos are stunning from just about anywhere.

For those folk with cast iron constitutions there is the chance to swim in a beautiful waterhole at the bottom of the trail. About half a dozen folk were doing this but it looked way too cold for me.

The piccys

Photo 1 the dingo proof door to the toots

Photo 2  the steps in. Note the Lleyton look. It’s easier to pick a path.

Photo 3  Tree starting life. The root system goes quite some distance sideways.

Photo 4  even the stairs are a little tricky

Photo 5  the canyon wall

This set of photos was really difficult to choose. The rest are up on FaceBook.