Kings Canyon Rim trail

Kings Canyon was next, it was almost 3 hours drive away from the resort, so we got picked up at 4 in the morning and headed for the desert.

After 2.5 hours driving with absolutely nothing to see but the never ending bush, we arrived at a place where we were going to have breakfast. I was first out of the bus and got my breakfast ordered, then went to the other building where the chef was cooking. I went in and delivered my regards from Abdul and the chef started laughing. Leroy had been working out there 10 years ago or something like that and back then he was also know as some sort of comedian. He said, because I delivered good news I would get a double portion, haha, thank you very much. The breakfast had already cost me $20, so 4 eggs and half a pound of bacon sounded more like the right price, hahaha

The bus continued towards the canyon, maybe another hours drive or so. I was beginning to wake up and was actually quite ready. Except my feet, they were a little painful. Still problems with the blisters, damn shoes got too small.
We finally arrived and were ready to set off. I asked the guide we were going to meet at some checkpoints on the way or just back at the bus before 12. He looked strangely at me and said, this is a tour, you paid for a guide so you have to follow the group now. WTF? I had to walk with all the old people too? Some of them were in their 60's, I had not intended to be walking snail pace around there. We walk as a group he said out loud, I guess that's how we walk then...
This hike was also set for 4 hours and rated difficult, again I suspected that it wouldn't take that long. First challenge was 500 steps up to the Kings Canyon Rim. 3 stops on the way so people who wasn't sure if they could make it all the way up could get a rest and go down again. One guy ended up doing that, actually a young guy a little bigger than he should have been.
Up on the rim I started talking to a family who also had an REI backpack, I figured they must be Americans too. They were from Seattle and were used to spending time in the mountains too, this was not really a challenge to them either. Seemed that there were more rules in Australia for hiking trails than the US, quite interesting. Maybe these trails in the bush were really for tourists and not like trails in the Rocky Mountains that I guess very few tourists take on.
The altitude change was no more than a 100 meters and the view wasn't actually that great as there wasn't too much to look at, haha. The guide was almost getting a heart attack when I went to the edge to take a photo. He was just being a pussy
The other day when I had been walking around the rock, my sunglasses broke. The lenses apparently got so hot and expanded that the frame eventually cracked on one side. 15 minutes later on the other side. In the afternoon sun the cheap copy sunglasses from Bali eventually gave up and the plastic frame over the nose eventually shattered as well. Talk about heat!
The most amazing thing though about the King's Canyon was that in the middle of it all there was a place called the Garden of Eden. It was a small waterhole that kept water the most of the time. Shadow enough during the day apparently makes that possible even in the harshest of environments. There were fruit trees growing, figs and other things I don't remember. Lots of tadpoles in the water as the frogs breed like crazy when there is water enough. After that they dig themselves down in the ground again, waiting for the next wet period.
On the top of the rim again we encountered the 2nd biggest lizard in the world, I would guess it was close to 70cm long. Not poisonous but still it could bite. There was not too much stuff living out here at this time of the day and half an hour later we were also back at the bus. Some people had been in quite big problems during the hike, and the rangers said that this is why we walk in a group. Blah...
it was time for some lunch and we were driven to a restaurant at the Kings Canyon Resort. Now, I have a different understanding of what a resort is, this one is not on my list of resorts I would recommend. The restaurant had 4 items on their lunch menu, burger, camel burger, sandwich or salad. I took the camel burger and only had to wait 45 minutes until it was ready. It was nothing special, but now I can tick that off my list as well.
The tour was $205 and was the bus ride to there and back plus a guide on the tour. I could have flown back to Cairns for that money and gone diving again. One of the guys in the dorm room had a car and was driving out there the same day as two others of us. We could have saved a shitload of money had we only met each other a little earlier. Lesson learned: never book anything until having talked to roommates or other travelers.
Went directly to the bar to get a cold beer again after the bus returned us to the resort. Done with Ayers Rock! I thought that it was time to reward myself for hard work the last couple of days, so I went to the DIY BBQ meat shop again and asked for the biggest and best piece of meat they had. $35 worth of Australian cattle was on my plate for dinner, cooked medium rare and washed down with a couple of beers. Ahhh, life in the Outback could be good after all, haha