Kings Canyon (Uluru Trip Day 4)

Reminder: this is a series, please start with the post “Alice Springs (Uluru Trip Day 1).”

On the morning of the 8^th we were able to sleep in for the first time in what felt like a long time. After a more restful sleep than the night before, I got up at the late hour of 5:40am with enough time to change and pack up before a breakfast under the weak early rays of the rising sun over the land of the outback. After a quick breakfast, we broke camp (we would not retune to this site) before leaving for the 30 minute ride to Kings Canyon. 

We started off the hike by climbing out from the bottom of the canyon where we drove in. They called the series of stairs (I’m guessing around 100 or more steps up) is in 3 segments and combined are called “Heartattack Hill.” I enjoyed the climb despite the steep height.

 

Once on top we started the 3 hour hike around the rim with stops along the way to hear about the vegetation or culture of the local Aboriginal People. We were introduced to the local plants and their uses. For example we were introduced to a tree that makes a substance that protects itself from the sun’s harmful rays. The Aboriginal People used this substance as sunblock!

We learned about the tree that has a very fragrant sap that would be used to disguise the smell of BO for the purposes of hunting, the wood, sap, and stone used to make a light spear for hunting, and a method of punishment. At Uluru we were taught that the Aboriginal People of that area used a spear to the thigh as the punishment for a crime (the offender was then forgiven and accepted back into the community). This was possible for them in Uluru because there is a tree there the sap of which has antiseptic powers and thus you could wound the offender with less risk of killing. And yet to disable them from walking, it was a serious issue as far as getting food and water for yourself.

 In Kings Canyon there was a plant (I believe its name is translated to be Milk Milk) the white milky sap of which was caustic and if rubbed on the eyes would cause temporary blindness (I think it was for a week or so long). As  you probably have guessed, the punishment in the Kings Canyon area was for the appointed punisher to sneak up to the offender in the night and dab some of this sap on their eyelids, so that in the morning if/when they rub their eyes the sap would get rubbed in and cause the blindness.

This photo is of the fun stratigraphy of the rock. It was explained when we saw it: it was once layers of sand that compressed the lower layers into rock. They rock would shift, and the dunes move causing the different angles of the layers.

An interesting side note is that this same sap (unless I’m mixing up plants) was believed to have a very different effect on the human body as well. Applied as an ointment, it was used for its supposed breast augmentation abilities. As Justine put it, this was the first form of breast implants. It is interesting that this would be used for this purpose as well as punishment.

This area was once the floor of a very large inland lake. The sand beds became stone where they sat... you can still see the ripples.

This area has water in it for a lot more of the year than the rest because the rock in this little valley is impenetrable and so the water pools on it. Because of that there is a lot more vegetation and has been given the name the Garden of Eden.

Another type of plant we were introduced to was used in combination with a second native plant and used as tobacco for its nicotine. Not dissimilar to the situation between the white settlers and Native Americans, this became a major trade commodity as the explorers passed through and settlers spread.

After the beautiful sites and great information, we got back to the bus in time for a short drive then lunch. After lunch we had the long haul back to Alice Springs. For this leg of the drive, we actually had a movie to watch along the way. Justine had been holding out on the ride out – which I think was a good thing – and told us about the built in tv that the bus had. As a group we chose to watch Million Dollar Baby for the portion of the ride directly after lunch. I’m not a big fan of the movie, but it did make the next 2.5 hours fly past a bit faster.

This is a little pool in the Garden of Eden where we stopped for a short snack.

They're hard to see, but those are people standing on a ridge, on a later part of our hike, looking down at us at the pool.

This flat face illustrates an interesting factoid: a true canyon is formed when the rock forcefully splits apart leaving these flat faces with a gorge in between them. This means that the Grand Canyon, formed by water slowly eroding away at sitting rock, is not actually a canyon.

With only one stop to gas up and hit the toilets (toilets = bathroom, not the plumbing fixture itself), we made it back to Alice Springs by 5:45pm. After settling into our hostel (and showering etc.) we went back out to meet up with our fellow Uluru trippers at a local pub. We ate dinner there and took in a few drinks before calling it a night and retuning to our hostel. It wasn’t too much longer before we had all collapsed back in bed.

This is us entering back into Alice Springs. I felt super touristy by stopping to get a photo here!

            This post is long enough, but I will brefly mention the last day of our trip. The following morning Dustin, Laura and I slept in until around 8am. The three of us then went for a walk to Anzac hill to look over Adelaide. Then we met Alex at the local McDonnalds for breakfast (I was hoping to introduce Laura to the McGriddle, but they are not served in Australia! It was a major let down). After that we went back, finished packing up, checked out, the got a ride to the airport. Going through Check In took about 1.5 hours, but security was easy, and we were there plenty early. The flight was with Qantas and was much better than the flight out – including a complementary lunch!

            So that is a summary of the events of our Uluru trip as I experienced it. I have intentionally not gone into any description of my emotional state during the trip. I felt a bit rough around the edges emotionally, and it put me in an odd mood for parts of the trip. That aside, it was a very enjoyable adventure!

 

Cheers!