Hiking around Kings Canyon - in my new boots!

Hey everyone! It's really bugged me that I've not been able to update my blog for about a week, but there's been no chance to at all I've been so busy! I've got so much to write about now I'm gonna have to do it in days, so bear with me!

We left Alice Springs on Friday, and we were the first pick up. Peter and Soren from our Darwin to Alice trip got on at Melankas so that was cool that we knew some people! After paying our kitty money we set off for Kings Canyon. Our first stop was at Erldunda Roadhouse, where I bought some more breakfast as I was starving! It was an odd old place - they had a giant metal echidna in a cage (?) and a couple of real emus. Strange!

Once we got to Kings Canyon I put my new boots on with pride, but instantly wished I'd bought a fly net as well - it wasn't really the giant swarms I was expecting of Central Australia, but you were constantly wafting them away from your face - very annoying! We did a 6km walk around the canyon (including 'Heart Attack Hill' which was only like walking up Rivington Pike twice so not too bad). We passed a species of tree which dates back 350 million years, but the one we saw was about 300 years old. Our driver, Celia, also pointed out some 'pigmy koalas' to us sat in a tree, which funnily enough had little hats and jackets on! Hmm. It was actually a really easy walk as it was quite cloudy, breezy and cool - not like the intense heat of Alice. We saw some gorges 75m high and some waterholes, then cruised on back down to the car park.

After our walk we drove to the Kings Canyon resort to make some dinner, and those pesky birds that were at Alice's Telegraph Station turned up, only more frisky, as here they were actually swooping for our sandwiches! Along with all the flies that you had to waft away from your plate and your face, eating was a very tiring feat!

We were staying at the resort of Yulara that night, the truly extortionate resort next to Uluru (Ayers Rock), where if you want to stay in the top hotel it will cost you about $2400 for a minimum of two nights, and the YHA is still pretty pricey at about $35 a night. We, however, stayed in a private camp reserved for tour groups, sleeping in swags outside our tents. On the way to Yulara we passed the tabletop mountain of Mount Conner, which many mistake for Uluru when driving past. It does look very similar, but is rather flat on top and is actually just a sand dune (I think). Anyway, after this sighting we kept our eyes peeled on the horizon for Uluru, but didn't actually spot it until about an hour later. It was a fantastic sight - I couldn't believe that I was there already. Amazing.

Once we got to camp, there was a lookout that you could walk up to get a great view of the sunset. The sun set over Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), but Uluru was behind us and looked stunning - a weird bluey-pink colour in the dusky light. After snapping some photos it started to rain, so me, Claire and a Canadian girl from our bus, Michelle (whom I'm sure I've seen before loads on the East Coast) started walking back to camp, but when we looked round at the gorgeous pink/orange light over Kata Tjuta we went back to get some more photos, and the rain stopped after about 5 minutes anyway!

We had a barbeque for tea and played some cards, but went to bed fairly early as we'd had such an early start. We started getting ready for bed about 9 but somehow didn't get around to putting our heads down until 11! Honestly. Anyway, we snuggled up in our swags and fell asleep under the stars, ready to see Uluru tomorrow...

PS. Phrase of the Day: "We're not really seven miles from the sun, are we?" - spoken by Christina while listening to Maroon 5's song "Seven Miles from the Sun" on the bus.