The next leg of our tour is west to Kings Canyon. Probably a poor cousin to Uluru however the area and area around it have some pretty spectacular sights from our research so we are keen to check it out.
Day 1
We left Alice Springs and made our way west and to the start of the Red Centre Way again. We had quite a long drive and quite a few sights to take in along the way. But first stop was the Information Centre in town as we needed to get a pass to travel along what is known as the Mereenie Loop Road. The road passes through Aboriginal-owned land (more than half the land in the Northern Territory is) and some areas – such as this – require a permit to enter.
Pass in hand, our first destination was Standley Chasm. The West Macdonnell Ranges have a number of gaps or gorges running through them and each is quite unique. A fairly short walk gets you to the stunning chasm where the red rock walls soar high up the sides of the small gap – which at the moment has quite a lot of water in it as well. The water that flows through the gap provides for some fairly lush vegetation which has obviously bee recovering from some fairly intensive bushfire damage.
Whilst we are driving through the area, the Larapinta Trail is a 223km walking track which runs from Alice Springs Telegraph Station west to Mt Sonder along the West Macdonnell Ranges. A 16.3 km part of the trail runs off from Standley Chasm and Adrienne had read that a short way along that trail were some great views of the area. We decided to take a look but the trail was very rough and almost vertical. I managed to get about the 0.3 bit up the trail and the views were pretty good ! We’ll leave the other 16k’s for another day 😂😂
There were so many sights to choose from along this section of the drive (Namatjira Drive) but our time would not allow us to see them all – so we chose 3 –
Ellery Creek Big Hole is another gorge in the ranges. It also has a substantial swimming hole. Being only an hour from Alice Springs it is very popular and has picnic, camping and other facilities. The waterhole is stunning – and according to one adventurous swimmer very cold ! We had a late morning tea in one of the picnic shelters whilst various walkers at tables around us shared their walking stories and experiences with each other.
Next stop was the Ochre Pits. Ochre occurs in a range of earthy colours ranging from white, yellow, orange, red and browns. It’s an important part of Aboriginal culture and is used in everyday life. It’s the raw material for paintings and ceremonial body decoration and these pits along a sandy creek bed have been used for many generations by the local Aboriginal communities.
Our final stop was Ormiston Gorge. Similar to Ellery Creek but on a much larger scale, Ormiston Gorge is supposed to be one of the most photographed places in the Red Centre – my contribution below of course ! The mixture of colours between the rocks and trees and sky and the changing angles of the sun just make these places stand out so much.
As we drove along, we did also come across Grosse Bluff. It is thought to be the eroded remnant of an impact crater from an asteroid or comet which struck about 142 million years ago. It is now about 5km in diameter but was estimated to be originally about 22km in diameter.
With quite a drive still to go, we pushed on and reached the gravel section of our drive, the Mereenie Loop Road. We had read varying opinions as to the standard of this road so we approached with a little trepidation. I am sure it is the gravel road surface and not my driving but Adrienne’s knuckles tend to turn white whenever we find ourselves on unpaved driving surfaces ! 😂😂
The road surface was certainly variable to say the least. The first section is supposed to be the best which had us a little worried about what the worst part might be like ! However we were rewarded with the sight of a grader on the road and the overall experience wasn’t too bad. Some of the dips and floodways made for a rollercoaster ride along the way though !
Reaching sealed road again the end of our days drive was in sight. We reached Kings Canyon Resort just on 5pm and after checking in we wandered down to the Thirsty Dingo Bar for a couple of drinks and dinner at the Outback BBQ – a tasty scotch fillet for me and lamb roast for Adrienne.
Day 2
We had an early start as we were off to tackle the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. So after our buffet breakfast at the Outback BBQ, we jumped in the car for the 8km drive out to the Canyon. It is certainly cool in the mornings at the moment and there was also a brisk wind blowing as we set off.
The Rim Walk is a 6km loop which they estimate can take 3 to 4 hours. There is a steep climb at the beginning of the walk as it gets you up to the rim of the canyon. As well as the spectacular views from the rim, along the way there are various other geological features to take in before coming across the lush vegetation of the “Garden of Eden” – a section of lush growth in a canyon kept fed by a constant water source at the deep base. This area also has quite a steep up and down section of staircases down the canyon and up the other side.
There were quite a number of hikers along the way – some solo and some in groups – all sorts really, including the rare specious of bare breasted tits worshipping to the valley gods ! Adrienne wouldn’t let me take a photo though 😂😂
It is amazing to think you are walking on vast ancient seas/oceans, millions of years old, with the ancient ripples now caught in the rock for us to see ! We completed our walk late morning and piously returned to our unit with a great sense of satisfaction.
We decided at this stage to do a little bit of laundry and take it easy for a while – catching up on our blogs. We walked down to the general store and bought some sandwiches for our lunch. We ate these sitting on our verandah overlooking the scenic rocky landscape.
We did a bit of planning and booking for tomorrows activities and late in the afternoon we wandered back down to the Thirsty Dingo for a couple of drinks. Last night’s entertainment – a good acoustic guitar soloist – was playing again so we just decided to stay and have the Outdoor BBQ again – tonight Adrienne had the scotch fillet and I had the “trio of sausages” – all well cooked and enjoyed with some great music.
Our spa bath was just the spot to soak our weary bones and enjoy the moon rising out our window with a glass of bubbly or two – a great way to finish our day.
Day 3
Our walks today were a bit more leisurely but also both very enjoyable. First we did the Kings Creek Walk. This walk meanders up Kings Creek into the area of the bottom of the canyon and is just under 3 km round trip. It is completely dry at the moment but you can easily imagine it in full flow as trees cling to large boulders scattered in the riverbed up the base of the canyon. With the coverage of trees along the way, it would even be very enjoyable on a stinking hot day.
About 18km along the road is the Kathleen Springs walk. It is slightly longer in length to the Kings Creek walk and is another round trip walk to the permanent spring at the base of the ranges. In the late 1800’s, early stockmen used the area to round up cattle – as the gully shape was a natural trap – and the waterhole gave a good source of water. For centuries aboriginal people use it to trap food – as emus and kangaroos would use the water hole and their exit could be easily blocked.
We headed back to the resort late morning for a quick break before heading back out for our afternoon activity. For lunch we headed to Kings Creek Station to try one of their famous camel burgers. King Creek Station was origianlly established in 1981 as a cattle/camel station but has since significantly expanded into tourism with accommodation from camping to luxury tents. The burgers were pretty good – nice subtle flavour and certainly not heavy in taste or texture.
From here we had a short trip down the road to visit Karrke Aboriginal Cultural Tours. This is a one hour tour and involves a short “walk and talk” on areas of importance in cultural knowledge on bush tucker and bush medicines used for spiritual and healing, as used by the Luritja and Pertame (Southern Aranda) people. It also showcases the various seeds collected – for both medicine and food – and the wood tools for ceremonial and hunting use. It was the creation of a local aboriginal couple who wanted to move back to their traditional land and bring cultural tourism to visitors to experience their traditions. It was an excellent tour and, fortunate for us, it turned out to be a private tour.
We were back at the resort late afternoon and got ourselves organised for moving on to the next stage of our tour. We filled up with diesel – at $1.95 per litre – but the fuel economy has been pretty good. After a couple of drinks at the Thirsty Dingo again, we wandered out to the sunset viewing area to take in the last sunset of our visit to Kings Canyon – which didn’t disappoint !
We decided to have a light snacky dinner on our verandah for dinner and enjoy a couple of drinks to watch the moon rise again over the nearby hillside. We have certainly enjoyed our time at Kings Canyon.
As the sun sets on our visit to Kings Canyon, tomorrow we leave for three days in Uluru where we meet up with our great friends Jo, Steve, Gae, Greg & Therese – should be plenty more good times ahead ! 🥂🍻🍹
Sunset at Kings Canyon Resort