King's Canyon - the end

Hooray. 4:55, and someone is snoring – but it doesn’t really matter because the Backstreet Boys will be playing very soon. Bloody song. Time to watch the stars.

After a bit of farting around trying to get a very large (and very warm) sleeping bag into a large sack, I was a little more awake and managed to get all my tea down my throat. Drink problem solved.

This time we drove out of the camp, along the dust track, for the last time to go to King’s Canyon. The sun was rising as we left, and in the low, bright light, the grass glowed white as though it had snowed.

King’s Canyon was full of the same buses as usual – all running round the same sights, and there was a queue walking up the first hill (which was steep but short). After that the track wound along the top of the canyon, through mounds of cracked sandstone like wicker beehives as far as you could see. One, that projected over the canyon was like the silhouette of a head with mouth open waiting to speak. You can see exactly how these places became sacred to a people without the science or the tools to explain it. The trees on top are ghost gums, which are covered in a white powder that works as sun block, and with the ability to selectively shut down and lose limbs if there has been no rain. Where the sea once flowed are ripples on the rock, and there are fossil remnants of jellyfish if you know where to look.


We then descended into the back of the canyon to the water hole, hidden so you’d never find it if you didn’t know it was there, with sheer cliffs that must be well over 50m high, ochre and orange striped. Back up again and it was still only just after 9am, but still would have been hot were it not for the breeze. The rocks form steps and amphitheatres, and cycads grow. It would have been very easy to lose the trail. Soon enough we descended, but it felt like we had finally done a proper walk (even if it was only 6km ish).

We left to go back to the “resort” (campground) with the swimming pool and had a dip and a shower before lunch at 1130. Then we started the 5 hour drive back to Alice. The road wasn’t any more interesting than before (I wouldn’t want it exciting, however). A road where 30m between service stations is counted as too close. I only managed to sleep for bout 30 min, so when the chance came to sit up front and talk to someone who wasn’t asleep (hopefully), I took it. Can’t believe we were talking about movies – how long is it since I last went to the pictures? It avoided playing I Spy all the way home. Phew.

And then we were back in Alice and dropping people off at their hotels. When we got back to the Desert Rose, Judy found that one of her boots that had been on the edge of the shelf in the trailer (the same pair that she thought she had forgotten when we started out) was no longer there. After a search through, the bus turned round and headed back to look for it.

This time I had the room two along, right at the end, which sadly was a twin, not a double. I managed to avoid falling asleep (narrowly) before getting a taxi back into town (which was actually about a 10min walk, but it was dark). Everyone converges on the one bar (Bojangles) in town after the tours. It’s pretty impressive – there’s even a web site where you can get people who aren’t there to put money in the kitty. Several people were already there when I arrived, then Damo arrived with the boot in a plastic bag – which had been sitting on the roadside outside a hostel. Next challenge – remembering to take it back to the hostel with me. The food was pretty good, although one portion would have served about 3 people. People watching (and gossip) – don’t you love it. Kate got sweet revenge on Damo for all the early mornings by getting the DJ to play the BackStreet Boys, going out live on radio Alice.

Later, after closing time, we went on to a v dodgy club. More like a warehouse (but not in a trendy way, in a transport depot sort of way) with concrete floor, a few pool tables and, er, that’s it. Oh – a dance floor. Dire music. We spent an hour trying to leave, getting Team Japan to teach us those moves they do in front of the camera and what they mean. I think it was about 2am when we managed to get away. Should have waited another 3 hours, and we’d have been up for 24.