The King’s Canyon is about 150 kilometres drive from Uluru. I don’t know after which king it got its moniker, but it does frankly look like a king’s folly. The canyon is a part of Watarrka National Park, different from Uluru. Its walls are 100 metres high. A quick stream runs down below. A round walk of the Canyon is about 6 km of walking next to the abyss. In our group some people considered it too physically demanding – and so they opted for a shorter and easier walk on the bottom of the Canyon. Our walk started from ascending the Heart Attack Hill, called this way thanks to a sudden steep climb that immediately awaits a visitor. Our driver-guide – responsible for the three days in Uluru and King’s Canyon – stands right in front the Heart Attack Hill:


The view down from the Hill – it is easier to climb it than it sounds.

The landscapes are quite incredible! I imagine Colorado must look something like this too.

I befriended Jin Yeo, a guy from South Korea and so we walked around together and helped each other to make all kinds of ridiculously looking photos. Jin Yeo had no fear of heights whatsoever, he would sit on the very edge of a ridge like this one with one leg in the abyss and smile nonchalantly posing for that shot. I ventured after him knowing it can be done.

In one place the walk includes a descent into the canyon:

The view from below.

In that place the stream creates a lake which is called the Garden of Eden:

Then you take the stairs to the other side of the Canyon:

We sit on the edge of the Canyon and ponder its magnificence:

Another lost world:

Unusual geological formations in the Canyon:

I remember fondly this camp where we spent the night before going on the trip around the Canyon. We would all sit around the big table in the centre. So much wine was drunk talking there and looking at the magical starry sky of the Southern Hemisphere. In this spot – the very centre of the immense Australian desert – the stars are especially bright and big. In my phone I have an app that allows to identify constellations by pointing the phone at the sky, and I first thoroughly tested it here. As the slow music played and exotic constellation names would jump at me, I had a feeling of being a fairytale.

After the morning Canyon walk we had several more hours which we spent by a pool in a resort located nearby. As we swam in the pool at the peak of the heat, huge dragonflies would attack. Afterwards as our minivan drove to Alice Springs (323 km), we visited one more roadside farm and met a few emus.

They seemed happy to see us.