Saturday 24th July - Kings Canyon Resort to Luritja Road (wild camp)

Thank you sun god. A pink sky before dawn heralded the reappearance of morning sun which has sadly deserted us for the past four days. We enjoyed breakfast in its warming rays, rather than seeking shelter in the Land Rover as we had yesterday because we couldn’t feel out fingers. Now all we need is for it to remain sunny for the next few days for our time at Uluru and the Olgars.

The repaired tyre was still inflated which is good, I’ll apply a patch to the punctured tube tonight. A second nice surprise was when we went to do the washing up and there were a couple of free gas cylinders left by somebody who must have been at the end of their holiday. They’ll keep me in cups of tea for a few weeks.

The Kings Canyon rim walk is another must do, and not just because the sun was out. After a steep climb

you find yourself amongst sandstone beehive formations, with ample evidence in the form of fossilised sand dunes

and ripples showing there was once a sea where you now stand.

Although somebody obviously has an issue with earth history as all the geological dates on the information boards have been scratched off.

The real reason for the climb is to view the 270m high rock walls that line either side of the canyon, which are most impressive when looked at from across the void.

A descent half way round takes you to the upper canyon floor and the so called Garden of Eden, with lush vegetation exploiting the water that flows down into a pool there (which cascades into the main canyon below during wet periods).

It also sheltered us for a time from the strong wind up top, but we prefer wind and blue skies to the overcast conditions we’ve been suffering the last few days. SPOT

We had a quick lunch before we did the short walk along the canyon floor to get a different perspective on the rock walls above.

On our way out of Watarrka National Park we called into Kathleen Springs which was used as a watering hole for cattle by early settlers.

This led to conflict with the local Aboriginals who’d been living there for at least the previous 22,000 years. Needless to say the ranchers eventually prevailed, with the cattle pens used up until 1983 when the National Park was established.

Anne’s super sensitive nose and her distain for the smell of EP90 (a.k.a. cat pee) combined to discover a slight leak in the front differential housing. A small crack has developed, presumably due to a rock impact at some point, making me regret the decision not to fit that QT diff guard we bought at Billing. You live and learn. After a clean and sand, some chemical metal will hopefully provide a temporary fix, but I feel the 20,000 miles we’ve clocked up so far are starting to take their toll on the Land Rover. SPOT