Walking The Walk

The next point marked on our grand tour itinerary was Kings Canyon.We had been told to get up before dawn, not only to catch a glimpse of yet another magical sunrise show but also to avoid the intense heat of the day.

As we rode out on the scooter toward the canyon the morning sky was aglow with pink, orange and red tones gradually rising from behind its rugged outcrop. ?I was even starting to get a bit excited about this walk.?

But then up ahead in the distance, I spotted tiny little pixie people crawling up what looked to be a vertical slope. When the driver confirmed that those pixies were in fact normal sized climbers doing the very same ?rim walk? that we were about to begin I had the feeling that I?d been conned ? yet again!

It was a very tough climb to the top … but with quite a few stops along the way, I finally made it. All that effort was eventually rewarded with vistas of incredible beauty – bettering those of Uluru and Kata Tjuta!

The canyon gradually revealed itself further as we followed the winding paths and bridges up, down and beyond. From immense limestone walls to flattened rocky platforms and gorgeous water filled gullies lined with the biggest cycads ever. There was so much to see including lots of wildflowers, loads of birdlife and so many different little lizards and insects that I almost forgot how hard it had been to get up there.

We caught up with a few familiar fellow travellers along the way and kept bumping into a group of backpackers who seemed to have to pose like models in all of their photos. Of course, the driver just couldn?t resist getting in the background of a few as well as posing for his own portfolio shots. We all agreed he shouldn?t give up on his day job!

It took us over 3 ? hours to complete the entire rim walk and even though by the time we returned my legs felt like jelly I reckon I’m starting to get the hang of this bushwalking caper?!