Thursday, Oct 7th 2010 --- Kings Canyon

Today we didn't have to get on the bus until 9am because we had to await for the tour bus from Alice Springs to arrive in Erlunda.Brekky was served at the roadhouse and then we were off on our second part of the emu runs tour.The majority of tourists just do the one-day large coach tour to the rock and back which we did yesterday, however a couple of others stayed on to explore Kings canyon today.Today we rode in a smaller 4-wheel drive bus with a total of 8 passengers on board!We journeyed on toward Kings Canyon via Lasseter Highway (Lassester was an explorer who travelled by camel in the 1930s in search of gold and was the first white man witnessed by the aboriginal tribes who referred to him as "ghost man").

Another couple of hours driving through areas which practise patch burning to prevent major widespread burns.This encourages new growth and provides habitat for wildlife. Aboriginals always burned areas before they settled, in order to shoo away any snakes and pests that make home in the spinifex grass which acts as a protected habitat with its spikey blades.

We reached Kings Canyon which was discovered by the first white man ---Earnest Giles in the 1800s.Here we completed a 5.5km rim walk.It was a lovely climb with the hardest portion right at the beginning and the rest was a breeze (nothing compared to my summit adventure of Cradle Mountain in Tasmania!)

The sandstone canyon is rich in iron, which oxidizes and produces a vibrant red rock colour.Occasionally portions will crumble revealing the white sandstone that has not been exposed to air therefore no oxidization has occurred.This allows for various intensities of reds throughout the canyon, and random black streaks where water has travelled through.With vast temperature differences from day to night, ice occasionally forms and can create fissure cracks sending full rock sheets tumbling below and exposing a polished surface.At the top of the canyon, crinoid fossils (aquatic invertebrates… Earth Science did actually come in handy!) from the Devonian period were apparent.Cycad plants - prehistoric plants from the Jurassic Period were growing between cracks in the rock which I found interesting considering the usual drought-like conditions.Ghost Gum trees (named after the white bark) were growing beside pine trees… weird combination!In all fairness, these pines weren't quite the same as Canadian pine trees!

The hike took about 4 hours to complete, as we were stopping for photos and listening to our guide's (Mark) wonderful stories and informative talks.It was then a few more hours on the bus back to Erlunda where we had dinner at the roadhouse before clambering aboard the large bus which was Alice bound.We arrived back at our resort in Alice Springs at midnight and called the night officer who was awaiting our arrival to see us into our room.