2nd April – Uluru to Kings Canyon

When we were on the coach going to the Sound of Silence dinner, we asked the driver about the road conditions heading out to Kings Canyon.  He said it was a sealed road between Uluru and Kings Canyon but he warned us about camels on the Kings Canyon road.  A coach hit a camel there fairly recently.  So we were all on high alert when driving, but at the same time we wanted to see a camel, just not hit one.  Fortunately or unfortunately we didn’t see any wild camels wandering around.  We did see a few on a farm though and had to make do with that.

He did mention that there is a dirt road from Kings Canyon to Alice Springs but that was pretty rough and people often do tyres on that road.  So he recommended backtracking out the same way we go in and sticking to the sealed road.  It adds a bit of distance on, but still quicker than having to replace tyres.  I did have the Mazda CX5 and not a 4WD, so we were happy with this advice and agreed that would be the plan on the way to Alice the following day.

We checked into our room at the Kings Canyon Resort and got upgraded to a spa room which was nice.  We then went for a hike to do the rim walk at Kings Canyon.  We were told to allow 4 hours for this but it didn’t take us that long.  The beginning of the hike is a little intimidating as it is the steepest section and you just scramble up the rocky stairs cut out into the side of the hill.  This was definitely the hardest bit, so don’t be put off before you start.  There were many stairs and it was quite up and down, so be careful if you have any knee issues doing this hike.

Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
sam and Steff at Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
Sam and Steff at Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
Sam and Steff at Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
Sam and Steff at Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT

Sam spotted this sign and requested that Steff and I do a re-enactment.  I feel we did it justice.

Sign at Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
Sign at Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
Kris and Steff doing a re-enactment of the sign at Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT
Kris and Steff doing a re-enactment of the sign at Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park NT

After our hike we returned to our room and decided to have a spa to alleviate the achy muscles after all of those stairs.  The spa is really a romantic bath for two people, not designed for a group.  But we didn’t let that stop us.  We put on our bathers and lined up next to each other facing the window and played a challenging game of eye spy.  This kept us entertained for a surprisingly long time.

Spa at Kings Canyon Resort, Watarrka National Park NT
Spa at Kings Canyon Resort, Watarrka National Park NT

We got ready for dinner and found a BBQ restaurant at the resort and we all really liked the food.

Overall we felt that Kings Canyon Resort is really expensive and would probably avoid staying at the resort in the future.  There was a station/camp nearby the Canyon that might be a better option.  The Kings Canyon rim walk was definitely worth doing and it wasn’t hard to fit it in on the same day as driving from Uluru.

9 thoughts on “2nd April – Uluru to Kings Canyon”

  1. Great photos. Love the reenactment!!!
    Is this Sam & Stephs 1st outback experience.? Wondering if they are awe struck by the colour contrast and beauty of the landscape like we were when we hit the Kimberley

    1. Glad you liked it :) We cracked ourselves up.
      Yes it was Sam and Steffs first outback experience and they did love it.
      You can’t help but be blown away by the colours and landscape the first time you see it. I still think that the Kimberleys is the most magical place though. It has still been my most favourite place to date I think, the Gibb River Road. It is going to be hard to beat and we have seen so many other amazing places over the past year, but it is still my number 1.

  2. Lovely lovely .Good on you for doing the hike .We did it the easy but extreme way ,the smallest helicopter I’ve ever seen hahahahah saw it all from the sky ,magnificent. Love the romantic room and the bath out on the balcony wow thats my kind of ending of the day .?

    1. Thanks Jo, we loved it. I have done the helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon, and it is an awesome experience. But for me I think I would choose to hike through places than fly over them. There is a magic about it that I think you miss from the air. But a great way to see it for those people whose knees or health wont let them hike it, or if you don’t have the time. I was really surprised how cheap the helicopter flights were at Kings Canyon actually.

  3. Lovely room, great photos (though they never quite do justice to seeing the real thing!). Funny, but the smell came back to me whilst I was reading this. Great re-enactment – you missed your true calling, me thinks! xxx

    1. I totally agree Sam, you can capture some of the beauty of the spot but not the feeling being there. There is nothing like seeing it for yourself. Do you mean the smell of the place came back to you?
      Hahahaha thanks Sam :)

  4. Great story, wonderful scenery & photos.
    Brought back my memories.
    Don’t you just love those fly nets!
    & yes the view from a helicopter amazing!
    Now pending a hot air balloon .

    1. Thanks Karen :)
      Yes I wouldn’t be without one out there!
      I need to see your photos from the helicopter flight. And you are braver than me to get into a hot air balloon, it would be amazing though.

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