So having
climbed Uluru, and spent the previous days admiring it from all angles, we were
keen to move on, ever conscious that Wet season was approaching and we still
wanted to get up to the tip in Cape York before it rains. We still had our ‘4th night free’ accommodation, but were happy to head off at
4pm and park up at Curtin Springs for the night. 4pm – I think that was our
latest check-out ever!
Curtin
Springs has the BEST free camping area alongside. You need to pay for showers,
if you don’t have your own, but that’s it. They also have a resident emu named
Mongrel who wanders the sites in search of a feed. The next morning we were up
early to do the 2 hour drive into King’s Canyon. Getting to Curtin Springs the night before cut an hour off our
drive, and meant we could leave Bertha (and her thirst for fuel) behind and
just pop up in the RAV.
So we were
up and off early, heading along the Red Centre Way, past yet another natural feature
adorned with clothing or accessories. This time the ‘hat tree’. If you look carefully at the
photos, you might spot the ‘sock bush’ in the background.
We stopped
at the station on the way through and saw a new sight for us all – baby camels!
They are officially called calves, but how cute are they?!
We got to
the carpark at the canyon and the children discovered the news I had been
avoiding for a while. The hike was in fact 6.5km long. It starts with a ‘steep climb’ followed by a wander around and a ‘gentle descent’ at the end. Hmmm. Considering we
had completed an exhausting climb and hike the day before, the children were
not enthusiastic. To say the least. Lexie stomped her foot, crossed her arms,
called us the worst parents EVER and flat out refused to climb the very first
step. I was way ahead, with no patience for grotty kids and Dunc had a word to
her before joining Angus and I up the slope. Eventually Lexie stormed past us
shouting how we were the “Worst parents EVER for forcing them
to do this horrible hike the DAY AFTER such a big day yesterday!” Thankfully it only took about half an hour for
her to get over herself and thoroughly enjoy the day.
Angus ran
out of puff just near the top of the climb, right near some ochre in the wall.
I decided to let him chill for a bit, playing with the ochre and we painted
each other’s faces for fun. When we got to the
top, it was definitely time for a lunch stop. We can tell its time to eat by
the increase in moaning, and quite possibly we should have stopped to eat
before tackling the climb. I just didn’t think it should be done on a full tummy. Lexie and Duncan joined us in
face painting and we went on to explore the rim of the canyon.
Its really interesting
being able to put things in context. We found the rock formations at Kata Juta
and Kings Canyon really reminded us of the Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) mounds.
They have the same conglomerate rock. Almost like exposed aggregate in
concrete. Lexie said at one stage that felt like she was walking on the moon,
and it easy to see why when there is no greenery and only smooth rocks and
lumps in view. It’s a 6km trek around the rim, but
there are ‘optional’ lookouts which add another 1km and should not be optional at all – the
entire thing is just stunning.
With food in
her tummy, Lexie REALLY enjoyed the hike in the end. She was the one insisting
we take every optional extra and taking great joy in going faaar too close to
the cliffs and drop-offs. She is such a daredevil. It was another challenging
hike, with cliffs to scramble up and down, and a lovely set of steps descending
into the canyon and back up again at the halfway mark. Mum had mentioned them,
so I knew they were coming, but I didn’t mention it to anyone. Our claves were rather tender from the massive
climb up Uluru the day before and I knew it wouldn’t go down well. We made it though!
In the end
we calculated that we had hiked 11.5km in two days. Lexie said in a VERY firm
voice “When I do this trip with MY kids, I’m going to give them a day off in between to
recover!”
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