Canyon Climbing

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Trip Start Nov 13, 2006 Previous
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  Kings Canyon, Australia
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

The drive from Yulara to Kings Canyon in the Watarrka National Park was mostly uneventful and we still had not seen any of the elusive Red Kangaroos. We arrived at our accommodation in Kings Canyon resort in the afternoon. We had passed the Canyon itself on the drive through, a huge rocky range jutting our from the flat ground surrounding it. The landscape here was quite desolate with sparse trees, dusty red ground and swarms of insects and reptiles. Flocks of birds, in multicoloured hues, filled the sky and created a huge cacophony of sound as they came into land. The area had a real outback feel to it and with it being the low season there were few other people around.

We rose early the next morning to explore Kings Canyon itself before it got too hot. Arriving at the start of the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, a 6km loop up onto the rim of the canyon, we started the steep climb up on to the top of the ridge. The temperatures were nearly unbearable even at 8am and after arriving at the top of the ascent we were drenched and breathing heavily. It was however worth the effort. The view was spectacular, the canyon itself filled with lush vegetation and providing a huge contrast to the bush stretching out for miles into the distance. Nothing but red dirt and the odd tree for hundreds of kilometres around. The rest of the walk was a little more sedate along the edge of the canyon. The ground was rocky underfoot and we climbed over boulders and scaled ridges until we reached the main lookout. From here we could see the hundreds of sandstone domes forming the top of the canyon and the huge crevasse in the centre, the rock discoloured with stripes of brown and orange from the rain water tricking down the sides. Another half hour of walking and we came to the Garden of Eden, a beautiful area filled with cool waterholes and riverine vegetation. The palm trees filled the gully and the area was filled with local fauna making use of the waterholes, giving the area a tropical feel. Continuing further round the canyon rim we came across many lizards basking in the sunshine, camouflaging themselves against the red-brown of the rocks. Kings Canyon itself is formed of white sandstone, but rain has caused the iron oxide in the rock to turn the outer layer a dark orange colour. We saw several unweathered pieces of rock on the walk, the white centre contrasting with the outer coating. Descending back to the car park the sun was beginning to heat up and we retreated quickly to the shade of our room where we stayed for the rest of the day out of the 40 degree heat. That evening we treated ourselves to the hotel restaurants all-you-can-eat buffet. Stuffing ourselves with antipasto, seafood, roast dinner, dessert and cheese. Afterwards we could hardly move, but had definitely had our moneys worth. The next morning we would set off back to Alice Springs, a drive of another 500kms.

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