Kings Canyon

Kings Canyon is located between Uluru and Alice Springs. It is outside of the Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park (where you find Uluru and Kata-Tjuta (the Olgas),) and is a 3.5-hour drive from Uluru. It is a lesser known tourist attraction but many tourists who see ‘the big three’ (Uluru, Kata-Tjuta and Kings Canyon) will say Kings Canyon was the highlight.

Entrance to Kings Canyon

Kings Canyon has scenery that is quintessential of the Australian Outback. Quite a few of the expansive desert scenes in Priscilla Queen of the Desert were filmed at Kings Canyon.

All smiles now

With Uluru and Kata-Tjuta being so close to Ayers Rock Resort, Kings Canyon takes that extra effort to visit. But it is so worth it. The 3.5-hour drive is along a sealed road that’s scenic and there is zero traffic. Absolutely no peak-hour rush out here! Along the way, you will see wild camels. I had no idea Australia has so many camels. Someone told me that a lot of the females and rounded up and shipped to the Middle East while the poor males are turned into dog food. During our drive we also saw a dingo. That’s the first dingo I’ve seen in the wild. The poor wee thing was so skinny you could see his ribs. Very sad.

A dingo

When you arrive at Kings Canyon be sure to visit the amenities block as this is the only one you will find. There are many short walks you can do but the most famous is the Rim Walk which is the longest. We decided to do the Rim Walk. It is suggested you do the walk in the winter months but if like us, you find yourself there in the height of summer, it is recommended you start the walk early in the morning and be back down by around 11am before the heat of the day kicks in. There is little shade on the walk. If travelling from Ayers Rock Resort, this will require you to be up well before sunrise.

Here we go

There are also signs warning you to be back down at ground level before late afternoon, especially in the summer months when it is thunderstorm season. Thunder and lightning are more common in the afternoon so you need to ensure that you start the walk early enough to be down before a storm descends. I heard the most tragic story when we were there. Apparently, on New Years Eve, a family of four touring from Adelaide were on the Rim Walk in the afternoon. They became enveloped in a thunderstorm and the father was carrying a tripod for his camera on his back. The metal tripod was struck by lightning and the man was killed instantly. An unbelievable tragedy.

The steep ascent at the beginning of the walk is the most challenging section

Along the walk there are areas that have been designated for rescue helicopters. The major reason travellers require rescuing is due to heat exhaustion.

The vastness of Kings Canyon

I’m painting a rather gloomy picture of Kings Canyon and I don’t wish to do that as this walk is incredible and absolutely breathtaking. It’s not dangerous; you just need to make sure you begin the walk at the right time of day and that you wear suitable clothing and shoes, and pack enough water for the duration of the walk.

Get away from that edge

The Rim Walk is 6km and designed for relatively fit people. It will take around four hours to complete the walk depending on how many times you stop to admire the scenery. If you don’t think you can manage the Rim Walk there is the shorter Kings Creek Walk or you can see Kings Canyon by helicopter. For the walking enthusiasts, there is a 22km Giles Track walk that starts at Kings Canyon and finishes at Kathleen Springs, a spring-fed waterhole.

Top of the mountain

The beginning of the Rim Walk is the toughest part of the 6km. It is a fairly steep ascent of around 1000 steps cut into the rock. There are places you can stop along the way to catch your breath and admire your surroundings.

My mountain goat

At the top of the climb it’s not long before you go through ‘Priscilla’s Crack’, a part of the canyon made famous by the movie, Priscilla Queen of the Desert’. From there you can look out over the Lost City, which is the floor of the canyon that is sprinkled with domes that look like ancient ruins.

My little climber

With a bit more walking you then come to the Garden of Eden, our most favourite part of the walk because of the vegetation, bird-life and expansive permanent waterhole. In all that heat it is so refreshing to find water. We spent quite a bit of time in the Garden of Eden resting before attempting the rest of the walk.

A very inviting waterhole

The remainder of the walk isn’t as challenging as it’s mostly downhill. We arrived back at the carpark very weary but exhilarated by the spectacular scenery and the unique experience.

The Garden of Eden

If you don’t want to do an early morning (very early morning) drive to Kings Canyon, about 10km from the canyon is the Kings Canyon Resort which has hotel accommodation and a campground. Wherever you decide to stay, make sure you manage a visit to this lesser known amazing part of the Aussie outback.