Posts Tagged With: kings canyon

Yet another cold morning morphing into a glorious day.  Cloudless blue skies and a top temperature of about 28 degrees.

As mentioned yesterday, dingoes and wild dogs are a problem here.  There are signs all over the place warning about feeding or in any-way encouraging them.  They turn up at mealtimes and you can hear a voice saying “Shoo – go away!”  Unperturbed the dingoes simply move on to the next van and the next van says “Shoo – go away!” and so on.  Just like a verbal Mexican wave.  Hilarious!!  Sometimes other words with the same meaning are used, but this is a family friendly blog so I won’t repeat them here.  There were some upturned rubbish bins about the park this morning and it is pretty obvious who the culprits were.

Scrawny dingo/wild dog at Kings Canyon Resort

We got off to an early start this morning as it felt a lot warmer than the last few days.  Bertha was packed up and we drove about 10 kms to Kings Canyon.

Views on the way to Kings Canyon

We parked in a section of the car park set aside for the “big boys”.

Big Rig carpark at Kings Canyon

There is a very impressive metal information structure with lots of information about the geology of the area, and about the different walks available.  There are also water stations with (hopefully) fresh water so that visitors can have a drink, fill water bottles, and so on.  Toilet facilities are nearby, but are the only ones servicing walkers and visitors to Kings Canyon.

Information Area at Kings Canyon

We had a look at the rock stairs at the start of the Rim Walk, which is the most difficult walk.  It goes for about 6 kms, takes 3 to 4 hours to complete, and is rated Moderate but with a hard section at the beginning – that would be the rock stairs.  I did the Rim Walk 24 years ago but decided not this time – the years have left their mark!

Stairs at the start of the Kings Canyon Rim Walk

Instead we headed along the Kings Creek Walk which is a lot easier, although it still means scrambling over rocks and such so a reasonable level of fitness is required.

Start of the Kings Canyon Walks

It was an absolutely beautiful walk, in parts along a dry creek bed, but the contrasts in the colours of the vegetation against the clear blue sky and the amazing rock formations make it particularly special.

Scenes from the Kings Canyon Creek Walk

Scenes from the Kings Canyon Creek Walk

Scenes from the Kings Canyon Creek Walk

Scenes from the Kings Canyon Creek Walk

Scenes from the Kings Canyon Creek Walk – can you see the man doing the Rim Walk?

Scenes from the Kings Canyon Creek Walk – can you see the bridge for the Rim Walkers?

Our walk came to an abrupt end some distance before the anticipated end at a viewing platform where you can see stunning views of the sheer canyon walls. In May 2016, during severe storms, some boulders came loose from the canyon walls and destroyed the viewing platform and it is still being rebuilt, so the Rangers have had to fence off the end of the Creek Walk.

Abrupt end to Kings Canyon Creek Walk

We really enjoyed the walk and stopped several times to just sit quietly and soak in the ancient, mystical atmosphere.  Like at Uluru, you can feel the spirituality of the land and can completely understand why these areas are so special to the traditional land owners.

After a refreshing cool drink in Bertha we made our way back to Kings Canyon Resort and reclaimed our site.

Lunch was “Wombat, Roots & Leaves” vegetarian pizza at The Desert Oaks Bistro, which I washed down with a Lazy Yak.  Delicious!  We were going to have coffee there but a tour bus arrived and disgorged a million visitors so we headed back to Bertha for coffee instead.

This afternoon has just been a lazy afternoon, soaking up the magnificent vista that surrounds us.  This truly is an awe inspiring location and we have made the most of our stay here.

Thoroughly enjoying the motorhome experience.

Goodnight from Kings Canyon Resort

We woke to a cold morning and turned on the diesel heater before breakfast.  The sun soon warmed up the day.

It was interesting to see dingo/dog footprints all around the camp area.  Perhaps what we heard last night was a rallying call to come and hunt for some food scraps from the tourists?  I suspect that they would have been disappointed as we were a very tidy bunch.  The rubbish bins have heavy metal grill lids on them too.

Not in any particular hurry, we soon headed off along Luritja Road towards Kings Canyon.

Scenes along the way

Scenes along the way

This was not an enjoyable drive.  Although the road surface itself is generally very good, the road needs to be at least a metre wider – it is 2 very skinny lanes and overtaking can be a real issue.  The sides of the road are very jagged and deep and would do some real damage to tyres if you went off the main road surface. Remnants of tyres along both sides of the road are a testament to this problem.

Ragged edges to the road

The situation is made worse by there being no opportunities to pull off the road for any reason for about 75 kilometres at Kings Creek Station.  This place was a very welcome stop.  We bought a couple of very tasty coffees and had a look around.  They offer various types of accommodation, sell fuel ($2.13 for unleaded, $1.98 for diesel), have a café and gift shop, and offer tours of the immediate region, including helicopter tours.  The pet cockatoo Charlie was very photogenic.

Kings Creek Station

Charlie the Cocky at Kings Creek Station

Chopper getting ready for take-off

Camels and Donkey at Kings Creek Station

Some further 40 kms along the road we arrived at Kings Canyon Resort.  This is a lovely secluded complex – there is no TV, mobile or internet but that’s the whole point.  They offer “a private audience with an ancient land” and that is exactly what you get.  It is so peaceful here – loaded with views, shaded areas, and hundreds of happy birds.  There are signs everywhere warning not to feed the dingoes, and there are special dingo doors on all the amenities blocks as well.  I did see a very healthy dingo wandering around but didn’t have my camera at the time.

Kings Canyon Resort

Beware of Dingoes at Kings Canyon Resort

After checking in at Reception we found our site, set up Bertha and had a good walk to explore the complex.  The facilities are great and the views are amazing.  This resort is nowhere near as big as Ayres Rock Resort, but it does have its own, peaceful feel.

Today is Tracey’s birthday so we found a pay ‘phone and called her.  Our grand-daughters first question was “what’s a pay ‘phone” so we have included a photo for Alex and Emily.

What’s a payphone Nana?

We continued our walk around the resort and stopped for a welcome cold beer at the Thirsty Dingo Bar.  There are several catering options here including the “Under the Desert Moon” 5 course degustation under the stars, Carmichael’s contemporary restaurant, the Outback Bar & Grill, and the Thirsty Dingo Bar.  There is also a general store with quite a wide range of goods and souvenirs, a fuel station, and very importantly, a dump point.  Other facilities in the resort include a swimming pool and tennis courts.

Thirsty Dingo Bar at Kings Canyon Resort

Back at Bertha we had a quiet sit before heading out to the Sunset Viewing Platform.  This is a good vantage point and quite a few people gathered there to see the sunset.  Champagne, wine, beer and other cold drinks were on sale too – how civilised!

Sunset at the Viewing Platform

Sunset at the Viewing Platform

Sunset over the rocks was very impressive and we could see the rocks changing colour.  What was even more impressive was the fast rising moon.

There’s a Pale Moon Arisin’

Then it was back to Bertha for a light tea before some reading and an early night.

Goodnight!