Hermannsburg proved to be quite a neat little settlement with a few historic hamlet buildings. The mission was set up by German Lutherans as an aboriginal mission with its most noted prodigy being the very famous artist Albert Namitjura. Albert (Elea) was born in the area, schooled at the mission and returned to Hermannsburg many times during his life.

From Hermannsburg we took the 4WD only Mereenie Loop road to Kings Canyon. While the road was rough it certainly didn't present any problems and we suggest would only require 4WD if it had been wet. On one particularly nasty S bend section some wag had painted on a 44 gallon drum "lift em foot" then later "putt em foot down". Quite clear instructions really.

We arrived at Kings Canyon around 3 so pulled on our walking shoes and set off at a brisk pace to walk the rim, a 6km trek. The canyon is fantastic, up to 270 metres deep and containing about 600 plant species, including palms and ferns. The "garden of eden" at the back of the canyon is amazing, one certainly does not expect to see such an abundance of foliage in the centre of Australia. The garden has quite a Jurassic look to it all, particularly combined with the towering red canyon walls and features. We spent quite a bit of time just sitting and soaking it all in. We were enjoying the experience so much that we also walked the path up the floor of the canyon.

We set off from Kings Canyon quite late with about 150 km to take us to our next stop at Curtin Springs. Curtin Springs was good value with free camping and also a bar. We had a bite to eat and a few at the bar, then settled in to chat with other campers around a fire in the campsite. A very pleasant evening to top off what had been a great day.