We spent Easter morning hiking the king’s canyon rim walk – a 6km circuit through some beautiful desert country. The walks of the canyon soar over 100 meters high in places offering breathtaking views. 9needless to say, our bright yellow car was easy to identify in the parking lot from the lookout point!) Interesting, the canyon shelters a narrow gorge called the Garden of Eden, which contains a number of tropical plant species typically uncommon to this desert climate. We saw numerous wallabies feeding on stuff that looked generally uneatable!

From Kings Canyon we drove the 325 kilometers back to Alice Springs and continued west into the western MacDonald Ranges. These ancient mountains used to be higher than the Alps, but over millions of years their soft stone has been worn down to much less impressive heights.

The “West Macs” as they are known locally were our favorite part of Aussie’s center as they offer beautiful desert mountain walks as well as attractive gorges, gaps and waterholes. The cold mineral water and lack of crocodiles makes the waterholes a perfect place for a cooling dip on a typical 38-degree autumn day!