Kings Canyon

After topping up with fuel and visiting Yulara Post Office to send more yummy goodies to Tanzania and a few post cards home, we were on the road back up to Kings Canyon. On arriving at Kings Canyon Resort we checked in, set up, played on the play equipment, ate dinner and raced off to see the sun set from the viewing platform on the edge of the campground. We were late (no surprise) and only saw the last few rays of sunshine on the canyon walls before it was all over. The funny thing is that people were actually walking away before we even got to the viewing area and then as we hadn’t quite got our bearings yet we didn’t quite know which rocky crevise along the spectacular range was Kings Canyon. We decided since we had ventured out to the viewing area we would hang around a little longer and get some reading time with Maddi. There we sat quietly listening to Maddi read us Billy B Brown and we were still by far the noisiest group at the platform.

The next morning we decided to tackle the rim walk around the top of Kings Canyon. After reading the details of the walk at the starting point we decided the kids were up to the challenge and up, up we climbed. The mountain goat girls did a fantastic job climbing the many rock stairs up the ridgeline while Kai found it a bit more challenging. The walk information said to allow 3 to 4 hours to complete the walk and we are pleased to say that even with a 3, 5 and 6 year old in tow we finished it just over 4½ hours. Thea did the side trip to the lookout alone while Tig continued along the track with the kids. The scenery was spectacular the whole way around with masses of domes to snake through during the beginning and then sheer canyon walls to admire further on. Thankfully the walk kept well back from the edge most of the way around with only a few sections where a firm grip of Kai’s hand was required. We had images of the whole walk being along the top of the cliff, particularly from the photos you see. The kids walked extremely well for most of the 6 kms around, but did tire and become a bit cranky near the end but how many 3 year old can say they walked 6kms around a canyon rim. It became more and more obvious that the kids were becoming tired as more little stumbles and grazed knees appeared and they were certainly content to sit in the shelter at the end and enjoy a jelly snake for their great effort.






Back at camp that night four of us enjoyed an informative slide show and presentation on the area from the local Ranger. Poor Kai boy missed out but he was so tired that the sleep was much more important for him. The girls hopefully took some more information away from this experience and hopefully, fingers crossed understood a little bit more about the area. Mum and dad certainly did.

Next we are off to the West MacDonnell Ranges for a couple of days and a little bit slower pace.

Till next time…
Thea & Tig