143) N to Kings Canyon

A last telephoto view of Uluru

As we left the Uluru area we again spotted this cyclist - we stopped to chat and discovered that he was riding from Darwin to Melbourne - and planning on riding the Onadatta Track - 600+ km of dirt road through the edge of the Simpson Desert. But - he reached Darwin after cycling from France - across Europe, across Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Myamar, Thailand and Malaysia. I wrote down his name but have misplaced it - he has been on the road for 3.5 years. After Au he heads for NZ then N through S and Central America and across either the US or Canada. 2 more years. wow....





We headed N to Watarrka National Park which encompasses Kings Canyon. It is an important conservation area southwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It is a refuge area for many plants and animals because of its rockholes and moist gorges. We enjoyed the 6km "Rim Walk." We started early enough in the day we didn't get totally baked, and the park service encourages everyone to go in the same direction on the loop walk so that you climb "heartbreak hill" first off the bat , which weeds out the faint of heart. At a fearsome 100m elevation gain, it's pretty grim.....




This is a spinifex pigeon with his demonic costume on. He's just trying to look scary so he doesn't get eaten.

















Who would have thunk we'd spot a treasure like this bird in the middle of nowhere?! A gorgeous Major Mitchell Cockatoo who has just finished eating his dinner, a nice, juicy, roadside gourd.
















Nancy doing the "balancing act" on the dangerous rocks. Do not fall!





















The 300 -metre deep sandstone canyon was pretty












The "Garden of Eden" had a nice pool of water and some greenery which was refreshing respite from the desert sun and heat. There were also some cool ancient cycads growing in the moist depths, these plants were common in the Jurassic, when the dinosaurs were roaming the Earth. They grow quite slowly and are long lived--some specimens are know to be 1000 years old! They look like palms or ferns, but are only distantly related.


The "Lost City" of beehive formations... They say this area is reminiscent of the Bungle-Bungles, but we haven't seen those rocks (near the Kimberleys in NW AU). Certainly not a place to get disoriented and wander about as you run out of water. It is an intimidating landscape in its own subtle way.