Rocks to Canyons (Kata Tjuta to Kings)

Ahhh…man, it’s been almost two weeks since I last updated my blog…and yes, as per usual, I am very well aware of my silence because of the piles of photos that are going un-shared, but also because I begin getting emails from people asking me if I am still alive and well.

Yes, dear people (friends and family), I am still very much alive and doing extremely well as I have been riding (cycling) through so much of the outback (on average 40Km/day) and simply STUNNED by her beauty!!! ALL OF HER BEAUTY!!!

After my awe-inspiring day at ULURU, Laurie and I made our way to KATA TJUTA (a sister rock-formation about 40km west of ULURU—Laurie’s favorite). And I courageously rode another 40Km the morning of our 10Km hike through the gorgeously scenic trails, under of course, the ruthless and blistering sun. Needless-to-say, my body was in a near-state of heat-stroke after that morning (1½ hours of cycling and 2 hours of walking)…and I ended the rest of the day at “Sails”—the 5-star accommodations at the Yulara Resort (where we were staying at the camp-site) which had a fabulously chill pool and pool-side bar-attendants!!! Cheers for them!!! ^_^ They rocked!!

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As I hinted in my last blog, Laurie and I were graced with another phenomenal ROCK sighting known as: Kata Tjuta. And I approached her ever so slowly and yet steadily on my handy-dandy bicycle:




Frankly, you would never guess from the outside that there was anything like this amazing garden-like landscape inside…I call it EDEN:



In the dry-season, there isn’t a drop of water in sight across these regions, but while hiking around, you can see so many pathways and dry waterfalls that must bring this place so incredibly alive and dynamic when there is such a gift from the skies!! Even in this dry-ness, the rock-faces and walls tell a story all of their own…just let your imagination flow…




Here’s my usual insertion into the scenery as I am sure that some of you by now think that I am just fabricating this whole trip up because no-one goes on vacation for 3+ months…but no, really, I’m here, and that’s really ME:



And finally, as we sweated our way out of the hike (my legs burning and my whole body in complete sun-shock)…both Laurie and I made it back with each, our own “fantasies” of what awaited at the van: Laurie—his ice-cold Toohey’s OLD, me—food, food, food, shade AND WATER, PLEASE!!!





Our stay in Yulara was most wonderful and memorable beyond words!! I had a very hard time packing up, but after 3 nights, it certainly was time for us to move on as we still had somewhat of a “schedule” and we needed to head back to Alice Springs where we were to get the van serviced and catch glimpses of the World’s longest solar-powered car race down the Stuart Highway via Alice Springs)!!! So off, we went…


…to Kings Canyon:

where we stayed at a most beautiful camping site overlooking the George Gill Range:



where Laurie posed with Miranda (the van), with one of his favorite beverages:



and here I am as you look straight into the Kings Canyon (which I hiked the following day):



Kings Canyon: the long-hike

As optimistic as I always seem to be about hiking right after a bike-ride, I figured after the grueling 3 days I had just had in ULURU/KataTjuta, that a 10Km ride followed by a 10Km hike would be a breeze. Wrong. Very wrong.
I completely forgot about the head-wind factor (it’s called a “canyon”, FUJ, a “canyon”!!! DUH!!)!!! So this projected-15 minute ride took me 45 minutes of grunting and cursing at my bloody good idea…and my 8am trail-head ETA pushed itself well close to 9am—and guess what, the sun was getting f***ing HOT!

But in the end, the hike (though a bit taxing with the steep climb up), was very pleasant and quiet as most of the other hikers had gotten their timely and early start. So I was mostly alone and caught a few glimpses of the moon still setting:



of a very cute and adeptly camouflaged lizard:




of a beautiful cycad (vegetation left over from the age of the dinosaurs—this one is estimated to be about 400 years old)

of some very beautiful desert flowers:




And of course, here are a few shots of the canyon itself…with amazing wind-carved designs all throughout the walls. This one I call “hieroglyphics”:




This photo was actually taken on the exact opposing side of the one above…the colors were absolutely AMAZING!




And finally, here is one of me as I try to look all cool and composed even though my camera is on a timer and I am scrambling over rocks to try and position myself before the camera goes “click”…




A great morning with a few stomach aches and pains making my hike a bit more strenuous than necessary…but I made it around and back down in 2.5 hours—exhausted and nearly speechless (as Laurie knows very well these days, that I am useless after these activity-filled days).

And on we go: back to Alice Springs!