Kings Canyon

Unfortunately many people don't come out to see this because of the drive, yet almost 1/2 million people see Uluru every year. Apparently only us crazy canucks come in the summer at 43 degrees with the up side being smaller tour groups and less people all around. Only 7 of us came out to from the rock to see the canyon.

Up and at the bus by 5:15am and into the canyon by 5:30am (that includes having a fast breakfast on the bus again). We hiked a steep accent about 500 steps to the top (the rest was pretty easy, walking the canyon rim) and watch the sunrise on the rocks.

There were signs of the ancient oceans everywhere right from the start. Wave pools, tide pools, wavy rocks where water lapped and even fossils of jelly fish and crustaceans all through the amazing sand stone caves and along the path of the canyon rim. This was a 6km walk/hike over 3 hours and with a little extra sleep, we did swimmingly! Thomas looks like a cherry tomato when he heats up near the end but nothing a few sprays of water can't help. Kyle was doing par Coeur on the rocks the entire way (like skateboarding up walls with your feet) and having a great time.  There was only 6 on our tour so our guide Tony really let us in on the depth of history in this place and it really is fascinating.

As we walked around the rim, we continued to see the beauty of the land and signs of water millions of year ago. One part of the walk had us go down sets of steep stairs to the floor where a very deep crevasse holds water from the recent rains. We followed that down another path to a swimming hole about 12m deep that Jeff took a plunge in. We were told it would be very cold but apparently they don't know us Canadians! It was the same temperature as a lake mid-summer :). Back up the other side of the canyon on steep stairs to the rim and continuing our walk, we started to the see the canyon in it's entirety and it was huge! Not like the Grand Canyon huge, but you would never know this was here from the road and miss out completely on the beauty of it.

We actually enjoyed the canyon better than Uluru. There is no commercialism here with far less people and the air is so clean. Back to the 'motor inn' by 9am and pack our bags for the next stage. Off to the pool for a few hours to cool off and in for lunch. By 1pm we are back on the road for a 500km drive to Alice Springs. Again, not really that far but that dang lake is in the way of the direct 300km route. We are all tired and ready for another nap on the bus, maybe a movie or 2 on the iPad.

Just passed a herd of wild mustangs with a little foal on the highway! The Aussies call them Brombies, if you haven't seen The Man From Snowy River, that says it all.

we start out in the dark, ready for the day

500 steps to amplify brotherly competition at 5:40am

the canyon rim is the highest point in the desert for a long distance in every direction

ah, youthful exuberance ready to start the hike!

sunrise on the canyon wall

thank goodness for he pack mule carrying the water :)  handsome too!

sunrise on a red world and two warriors

you have no idea what it took to get me out there, and my family wanted to go further left to the real edge....no thank you!!

the water remains shaded most of the day so it stays longer and is very clean and fresh, it will evaporate to low level after the summer

the grotto swimming hole

that is one steep canyon wall and a very refreshing swim!

the steep stairs down into the canyon that lead to the water hole

the walls of the canyon look like they were cut with a knife they are so smooth, and much bigger than they look in the photo

deep crevasses are all around spreading out from the canyon

the mouth of the canyon seen after 2 hours of walking around the rim, the swimming hole is just on the other side of the crack in the rim with the tree (above and right of the centre of the photo)

waves of an inland ocean leaves their mark after almost a billion years

do you see the two faces? this is what happens to brothers who fight and aren't nice to each other - they are frozen in stone forever.....or so the guide tells us ;)

A peacock in Alice Springs

the Todd River is said to be one of the oldest that has never changed course over the evolution of the land

Actually, we had more energy than we thought and after checking in at our Alice Springs hotel and a fantastic Thai dinner, the boys went to the pool in the dark and 30 degrees. They hate sunscreen and sun shirts so it was a real treat not to use them in a gorgeous lit up pool at 8pm. Had I known this part of the tour would be this demanding on time with early mornings and afternoon travel, I may have put it in near the beginning and given us more time in Ayers rock to sleep before jumping right in. Then again, there is little to do out here so getting right to it was not bad with a little more mental preparation.

A little note about Alice Springs.
There was a semi-wild peacock in the hotel courtyard that came right up to our balcony when we called it.  Probably would have eaten from our hand if we had something to feed it too!
You would think in the middle of the desert the land and homes would be dirt cheap. Actually not at all. Alice Springs is the hub of this desert land and surrounded on two sides by cattle stations. Those are on aboriginal land and may never be used for anything else. The 3rd side is the mountain range that geologists think is over 2 billion years old and perhaps the oldest in the world. Then there is the airport and the rest is aboriginal land. Houses here are more expensive than in Calgary!
The rivers here are called upside down rivers and the river beds are sand, filled with water 2-4 times/year during the heavy rains.  The water actually flows a few feet under ground through sand as the heat on the surface dries up any moisture very quickly.