Wednesday, 22 April 2026
We were up early this morning to try to beat the heat. In an attempt to be organised for an early breakfast I put my overnight oats in the fridge last night and … my breakfast was frozen again by an overactive refrigerator!! Damn, that’s annoying. I persevered with them, chopping the breakfast popsicle up with a spoon and adding more milk (thankfully not frozen) so I could eat my chilly oats.
After breakfast, we drove out to Watarrka National Park to undertake the Kings Canyon Rim Walk a six kilometre loop graded Moderate but … with a hard section at the beginning of the walk. Yup, it was a steep climb on rock steps to the top of the canyon. You know it’s a hard climb when you arrive at the top to be greeted with a defibrillator and emergency radio!! Fortunately neither of us needed that yet.
Where we were now standing in the George Gill Range, at the intersection of three major landforms. To the north-east the MacDonnell Ranges, to the south and west the sand plains of the Lake Amadeus region and the western deserts and to the south east the low hills and mesas of the Simpson Desert. The rocks beneath our feet started as sand dunes 400 million years ago before becoming Mereenie Sandstone, consisting of tough quartz grains cemented with silica. Beneath this hard cliff top surface lies Carmichael Sandstone, a more crumbly sandstone consisting of softer minerals mixed with quartz. The canyon started forming when cracks occurred in the Mereenie Sandstone allowing water to erode the softer Carmichael Sandstone beneath it.
The walk then followed the canyon rim. Although it was easier than the steps up to the rim, it was no walk in the park! It was rocky underfoot and by no means flat, so we had to keep our wits about us to ensure no trips or falls. Fortunately we were not moving fast because we too busy taking in the amazing scenery and stopping to take photos every couple of steps as another jaw dropping vista was revealed to us.
We reached a turn off for Cotterill’s Lookout that told us it was a 600 metres (return) side trip. As we peeled off the main path to walk out to the lookout we wondered if this 600 metres was included in the six kilometres or if we were adding more steps to our perambulation around the rim?? The detour did require some rock scrambling but it was worth it for the panoramic vista of the canyon, particularly the sheer south wall of the canyon opposite.
From the lookout we made our way back to the main trail. We both thought that the rim walk was all the way around the rim and we would not be descending until we were nearly back at the car park. Ahem, that would be a no! We had to cross Kings Creek. That involved climbing down some substantial timber stairs almost to the creek bed and then hauling ourselves back up again on more stairs. Before the final flight back to the rim we were presented with the option to descend into the Garden of Eden. We ummed and ahhed about whether to add another side trip. We had glimpsed the creek and its lush vegetation from the bridge across the creek, did we need to go down again to creek level?
A couple returning from the Garden of Eden extolled its virtues so, of course, go harder, go further guy decided we should do it. I was still reluctant but a good bit of FOMO had me tagging along with him! Although it meant going down again to turn around and climb up … again, it was worth it to see this delightful area of cool waterholes and riverine vegetation. We even spotted a frog but not near the water as you would expect, it was about half way up the trail sunbathing on a rock!!
Back from our second side trip, we tackled the last flight of stairs back to the rim to continue to the southern rim of the canyon. The full circuit has to be walked in a clockwise direction so we hadn’t passed anyone all morning. We had, however, been overtaken by lots of other hikers completing the rim walk. With our frequent stops for photos it was inevitable that others were moving more quickly than us. Nothing to do with our age AT ALL – just our penchant for photography, ha, ha. As we continued along the southern rim we started to encounter oncoming traffic because there is an option to walk to the southern rim and return to the car park rather than complete the whole circuit. Looking at the map again, I don’t think that is a much shorter option BUT … it does avoid the steep bit at the beginning of the circuit walk.
About three and a half hours after we set out we could see the car park. Never have I been so relieved to see a car park! With it approaching noon the day was really starting to warm up so I was just about cooked. Pleased to have completed the walk, but also very pleased that it was done. As we left the path, we walked past a shelter and spied a dingo. Unfortunately one that seemed a bit too accustomed to humans, as it showed no fear of us at all. We did our best to give it a wide berth and ignore it. All the instructions tell visitors to avoid interacting with the dingoes to keep them wild.
We drove back to Kings Canyon Resort for more servo sandwiches. The sandwiches were made by a company in Queensland on Friday last week so they were starting to get a bit dry around the edges!! We do have wraps and various fillings in our fridge and pantry box but who can be bothered after a six kilometre hike? Anyhow, it was fortuitous that we were in the servo as the staff member on today was able to provide Bernie with some local knowledge about four wheel driving into Palm Valley as we plan to do on Friday, en route to Alice Springs. Well that, and the ice-cream freezer, of course.
After lunch today we found our way to the resort swimming pool. We are really finding that a little bit of hydrotherapy after our walks is doing us good! We laid claim to a couple of sun lounges in the shade where we read our books for an hour or so before freshening up for dinner. We went for a drink first at the Sunset Bar, watching the play of the fading sunlight on yet another geographical feature. Not as stunning as Uluru or Kata Tjuṯa but a pleasant way to relax at the end of our day. After the sun had set we meandered along the boardwalk back to the main Bar & Grill.
We had just ordered our meal when Tim and Socorro arrived. We met them yesterday on the sunrise viewing platform, when Tim set up his tripod next to Bernie, and briefly again last night, so invited them to join us. They are from California but Tim worked in Sydney for five years so they probably qualify as honorary Aussies and they love Australia, hence back in Oz again for a holiday, after only a year back in the States. They are driving back to Alice Springs tomorrow to fly to Melbourne. They are then spending some time on the Mornington Peninsula, before driving along the Great Ocean Road and then on to the Barossa Valley. A shared passion for photography is a great ice-breaker.
Steps: 15,628 (10.18kms)
