Perhaps
the highlight of the Red Centre trip was the awesome Kings Canyon, and the
Garden of Eden within.
We
walk along a flat sandstone escarpment and discover a canyon created by a
totally vertical shear in the rock - so shear that the walls of the canyon are
smooth and you can look down 100m while lying looking over the edge!
We
hiked up the escarpment and down 'heart-attack hill' and were treated to
stunning rock formations caused by weird erosion, a myriad of trees with uses
including sunscreen (the white powder from the bark of the Ghost Gum) and glue
for spears (Spinifex grass roots) - you never know when such knowledge could
come in handy...
Walking
around the valley, we descend a walkway into the stunning Garden of Eden and the
brave (foolhardy) amongst us (ie Steve, Ruth, Kirst, the French Canadian who'd
puked after running up Ayres Rock and myself) take a plunge in the pool here
which clearly gets only a few hours of direct sunlight a day - it... f...ff...
ffff... ffffreeezzzing!
While Steve and I drew a few chuckles from the crowd as we explained that our
dangly bits had retracted on entry to said water, the girls kept the audience
amused for hours (well, around 5 minutes) attempting to exit the slippery edged
pool after a brave 'we are enjoying this' shot in the middle.
And they thought I'd never publish the pictures...
Good on you Ruth and Kirst!
