Kings Canyon

We arrived at the Kings Canyon Caravan Park late afternoon. We setup and started to cook our evening meal. Just after we started the dingoes came out and inspect new arrivals to see if any of them are foolish enough to feed them. They have become very bold and trot through the park looking from side to side as if they owned it. Later that evening, as we were enjoying a drink (or two) in the aptly named Thirsty Dingo Bar, attached to the caravan park, a dingo appeared and trotted through the bar, apparently completely at home and comfortable to be there, he must have been one of the regulars.

The next day we got up at dawn and traveled to Kings Canyon to do the Rim Walk. We wanted to start early to avoid the heat of the day, which was forecast to reach 38 degrees C.

The Rim Walk necessitates a climb, more of a scramble really, up the sheer face of the canyon, some 500 steps, although calling them steps is a bit of a stretch, they were more like irregularities in the sheer rock face. Upon reacing the rim there was then a six and a half kilometer walk around the rim and a steep descent back to the floor of the canyon.

The ascent to the rim of Kings Canyon as viewed from the bottom

Upon reaching the rim we were presented with the most amazing sights. The view over the surrounding landscape was truly breathtaking, but even more breathtaking were the colourful rock formations that had been laid down eons ago as sediment in the bottom of a lake and had been eroded by the weather over the ages. Here are a few examples.

By the time we reached the end of the walk, the sun had well and truly risen. The heat was intense and the flies were even intenser (or should that be more intense?) and we were glad to get back into the car and switch on the aircon.