Uluru to Kings Canyon to Alice Springs

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Early morning start for us and we are on our way to Kings Canyon. We decided to check out Kata Tjuta first. On route, we had breakfast and admired the view from a scenic lookout. Afterwards, we went on a beautiful, but rocky walk through Kata Tjuta and saw all the strange rocks and how they were formed. Leaving Kata Tjuta, we stopped at Curtin Springs to top up on fuel, which was $2.14 a litre! This turned out to be the most expensive fuel purchase for our trip to the desert.

Arriving at Kings Canyon, we went on a walk out to the canyon lookout. Sadly, we couldn’t go all the way to the lookout as a large rock had fallen onto the platform and it was still in disrepair. We found a 4WD access only campsite called Roma Gorge that was about halfway between Kings Canyon and Alice Springs. We decided that was our last destination for the day. Plans changed quickly when we were surprised with a dirt road that wasn’t going to end until Hermannsburg, a town 100kms west of Alice Springs. This pushed us away from the 4WD access campsite since the dirt road was enough four wheel driving for the day. We had dinner in Hermannsburg and camp for the night at a campsite 70kms west of Alice Springs.

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Photos

Kata Tjuta
A view of Kata Tjuta from the scenic lookout where we had breakfast.

Kata Tjuta
Kata Tjuṯa, also known as the Olgas, is a group of large, domed rock formations.

Kata Tjuta
A closer look at the Olgas

Kings Canyon
Welcome to Watarrka, which is more commonly known as Kings Canyon.

Kings Canyon
A view of the canyon from a distance

Kings Canyon
A closer view of the canyon

Kings Canyon
Kings Canyon is a beautiful place, but dry.

Kings Canyon
Slate rock formation at the canyon.

Kings Canyon
The track to the lookout was closed due to a rock fall onto the platform.

Kings Canyon
We spotted a dingo in the carpark. It looked rather thin and we tried to offer some food, but it ran away.

Kings Canyon
A view on route to Roma Gorge ......

Kings Canyon
... but the dirt road was very corrugated and rough. It felt like it would never end and slowed our progress. We had to slow down and reduce our tyre pressures. We were still about 50km away from Roma Gorge when it got dark. Not a good idea to 4WD at night, so we continued to Alice Springs instead.