Day 76 – Kings Canyon to Alice Springs.

Another 4.30am wake up to be out of camp by 5.30. We made our way to Kings Canyon to watch the sunrise. We made our way up a mountain of stairs (literally, I thought I might die) to the top and then across to the perfect spot. We were the first of many groups to arrive, which was good because we managed to take the best spots! Kings Canyon is completely made from sandstone so you've got to be careful near the edge as it can just break away.

The sunrise was beautiful, more impressive than yesterday but that's just because we were closer, what I mean is closer to the rocks so the views and colours looked better. Absolutely amazing! 

We then proceeded around the canyon on a 6.6k rim walk or more hike I guess. It was a bit tough on the ol' knees. Along the way we saw the North and South walls as well as the Garden of Eden. The canyon is made up of two types of sandstone with a thin layer of impermeable shale in between. There was one part where the rocks look like layers and this is because they’re ancient sand dunes and as the sand moves from place to place because of the wind it creates layers. As well as this there used to be a lake up here and you can still see the ripple marks left on the sand. The walk took us about 2 hours to do and when we made it back to the bus just before 9am we headed straight back to camp.

For lunch (even though it was only 10am) we had fajitas cooked on a BBQ… it’s amazing the things you can do, it’s just a giant wok really. They were damn tasty and exactly what I needed.

Just before 11am we left to make the long drive back to Alice Springs. We stopped a couple of times for toilets and snacks but we made it back to Alice earlier than expected at just gone half 4. 

This entire trip has been quite amusing to watch 15 people use 2 plug sockets with an extension lead and a million adapters just so they can charge everything. People these days can't live without the Internet and their electronics. I know that's what I'm writing this on, but I find it more of a luxury than a necessity. It's just more useful to book hostels and check in online for flights instead of finding an Internet cafe.

That evening 4 out of 16 of us headed over to Annie’s hostel for dinner and drinks, along with our lovely tour guide Ria! About 8 buses came back so it was quite busy by the time we turned up.

Day 73 – Sydney to Alice Springs

The first of many early starts this week, Valerie dropped me off at the airport just gone 6am which was super helpful of her as getting a bus or train at that time of the morning would have been near impossible. I was the only person at the check in counter making it quick and easy, my luggage has gone up to 16.6kg… I’m not quite sure where it’s come from as I’ve only added a dress since my last flight but oh well; at least it’s not over.

The flight left on time and arrived on time, I could get used to this! The package I booked includes my airport transfer so I went and got my ticket from the desk and jumped straight on the bus. These have been so easy in Australia; I hope it’s as easy in Asia! I was dropped right outside my hostel but unfortunately I had to wait just over an hour to check in, good news was they had free wifi so that occupied my time and I even managed to write a little bit more of this blog.

It was cooler in Alice Springs than I first expected, don’t get me wrong it was bloody hot but not as humid as I was expecting. I walked into the little town which was only about a 5minute walk from my hostel on the hunt for a fly net, a supermarket and a large lunch so I didn’t have to go out or buy anything for dinner.

Success! Fly net was about $6 and I spent about $12 in Coles on water and other things. I then found a little pub to have some lunch in which was alright too. I made my way back to the hostel, sorted out my bags as I was leaving my big bag here but it had to be in the locker before 7pm meaning I needed to be organised! I took two little rucksacks with me on tour so one for all my clothes and stuff whilst the other one would be the stuff I wanted to take on walks with me. The evening was spent chilling, reading and sleeping.