May 14th, 2016

Day 44: The Outback – Day 3, Kings Canyon / Kata Tjuta

So sleeping in the back of the SUV was ridiculously comfortable! We actually slept in later than we planned, as we figured an alarm wouldn’t be necessary. We were a little worried as the King’s Canyon walking info recommended anyone planning to do the Rim Walk finish no later than 11AM. As we were starting the 3.5hr walk at 8:15AM, we were pushing it a bit. But onward, and upward!

 

Pathway to the North Rim of King’s Canyon

So, King’s Canyon has been called “Australia’s Grand Canyon”. As someone who has actually been to the Grand Canyon (check my FB cover photo) and walked the South Rim down and back up, I can tell you this is NOT anything like the Grand Canyon. First of all, it’s not a canyon it’s a gorge – you don’t walk down into it, you walk up and around it. And the 3.5hr time estimate? Very generous. We were done with the Rim Walk in 2hrs, and we were keeping pace with older tourists and families with kids.

 

Cake walk. Emergency phones not needed (granted, it’s winter right now)

Comparisons aside, it was a very nice morning walk, if a bit crowded (as everyone is starting the hike at the same time, per the park’s recommendations). The full Rim Walk starts from the North Rim, and the entrance is shut down at 9AM to prevent tourists from attempting the walk in the hottest part of the day. The South Rim is open an additional 2 hours, but there is a gate halfway through the walk that only opens from the North side, making it a half-walk. Due to this, the South Rim emptied out by the time we reached it, giving us some nice vistas to ourselves (well, we had to share the views with the bush flies, who started to get really active as we were coming off the canyon).

Starting off the morning with a walk around the canyon

 

View from the canyon edge

The Garden of Eden – a pretty little oasis in the canyon

Checking out the view of “The Lost City” – beehive-shaped domes

 

The crowd of tourists on the South Rim – they all had to turn back halfway through the walk, so the cliff was empty by the time we got there

 

View from the South Rim – done with the walk in record time!

Once we were done with King’s Canyon, we started heading for the Big One – Uluru, AKA Ayers Rock. We stopped along the road at Curtain Springs – a wayside inn where we picked up a lovely hat net for Lindsay (comfort over fashion – I have no shame in looking like a dork).

I’ll wear ANYTHING to keep the flies away! They don’t bite, they just love to fly in your ears

A brief stop in Curtain Springs – a little oasis in the deadly desert

We arrived at the park a few hours before sunset, and realized we had time for a short walk. We decided to leave the grandeur of Uluru for tomorrow, and instead visited Kata Tjuta (AKA, The Olgas) where we hiked the Valley of the Winds walk up to the second vista point, and then drove over to the sunset viewing area for a spectacular view.

 

Exploring the trails of Kata Tjuta, respectfully

 

Gotta stay hydrated while hiking Kata Tjuta

 

Thwarting the bushflies – go humans!

 

Refusing to let the flies ruin another sunset

Kata Tjuta AKA The Olgas at sunset

The sun has fallen from the horizon

Fully satisfied with our day in the Outback, we headed to Yulara – a corporate owned village whose sole purpose is to support tourism to Uluru – to check-in to the campgrounds and buy some snacks & wine for dinner. As it was a Saturday, the campground was completely booked, they offered us the overflow parking lot for only AUD$10. As we were planning to sleep in the car again, we were keen for the surprise discount, and felt better about shelling out AUD$30 for a bottle of sparkling wine (at least is was good quality).

Car picnic! Keeping it classy in the Outback