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We arrived at Kings Canyon...what a sight! It was mid afternoon and the sun was still shining but starting to go down a little...we made a cuppatea and sat on the bench seat...it was beautiful! Kings Canyon Resort campground was very well presented, they had a small shop where you could buy milk, bread and other small items...a good Cafe' and a really good bar-b-que area for dinner...the Barramundi was awesome and Keith loved his 350g rib eye steak! 'The Roadies' entertained us throughout the night with Australian ballads and jokes...it was school holidays and they had lots of the kids helping out with the show...the kids loved it and so did everyone else!
The highlight of Kings Canyon had to be our Canyon Rim Walk, 6.6 klms starting with a stretch that seemed to go straight up...several times we moved to the side and let others pass as I was moving along like a snail beleive me! What took most folks 4 hours was 5 hours for us, but we stopped for lunch and had lots of little stops along the way.
The walk was really worth the effort, when we got up on top of the Canyon
and continued around the rim, what we saw was really beautiful...we deceided to go the little bit extra down to the bottom of the Canyon and there we found a gorgeous pool of water surrounded with lovely palms...that is where we had lunch...so quiet and peaceful.
After 3 nights at Kings Canyon we moved on towards Ayers Rock stopping for lunch at Curtain Springs Roadhouse...and what a wonderful time that proved to be...apart from the best hamburgers ever and elderly gentleman asked if he could sit with us in the sun.
As the conversation went on we found out that his name was Peter and he owned Curtain Springs Cattle Station...he had lots of wonderful stories and he reminised how when he first moved there with his wife and 3 year old son 52 years ago.
He built their first home out of Spinifix Grass as the roof supported by local tree trunks and no walls, they lived there for several years before he was able to build a tin shed for their next home...the same tin shed is now used as a kitchen/dining room for all the staff that work in the Roadhouse.
Our time
with Peter was really a plus as we learnt so much about his life on the land...it was so difficult especially all those years ago...he mentioned that during their first year on the Station only 6 folks passed by...now there are thousands passing on their way to Ayers Rock 90 klms west.
Mt Connor which is actually much large than Ayers Rock is on Peter's property, Mt Connor is a different rock formation to Ayers Rock...he is not interested in developing it for tourism...Peter helped to build the very first Ranger Cabins at Ayers Rock...I think he should e on australian Story!
After settling into the Ayers Rock Campground we lost no time to start exploring...walking the Valley of the Winds Walk through The Olgas which was 7.5 klms proved to be once again like everything in the outback...amazing!
Voyagers own and operate the Yulara Resort...Sails in the Desert Hotel, Desert Garden Apartments, Backpackers Hostel, Cabins and Camping Ground with 2 Cafe's and several Restaurants...we had a wonderful night at 'The Sounds of Silence Dinner'
The highlight of visiting Ayers Rock was to see Keith climb all the way to the top...there was absolutely no way
I could ever have climbed the rock so I stayed down below and watched his every step up as far as I could through our binoculars then watched patiently till he came into view again and slowly, slowly came back down...however he did it I don't know but thats Keith!
Oh my goodness, I was so pleased to see his head pop over the top and starting his descent down...it was something he had wanted to do and I am so pleased for him that he made it...he reckons he was the oldest fella on the rock that afternoon!
Keith also had a great time being co pilot as he says in the helicopter...he said the view was wonderful and he took some good photos...I had already done the helicopter flight some years ago when visiting Ayers Rock with Michellle for our Mother and Daughter week away so I knew just what he meant when he referred to the wonderful views from up above.
We will always remember our time at Ulura as something very special, certainly we loved our walks and seeing the sunrises and sunsets also our wonderful dinner under the stars!
More photo
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