Before we left Kings Canyon we had one more walk to do,the Creek walk which took us part of the way through the centre of the canyon.Once again we started off early.

It was another beautiful walk.

There were some magnificent gumtrees seemingly growing out of the rocks.

Massive boulders were lying around as well. In the middle photo below John is examining the pebble lodged between the crack in the rock in the above photo on the left.

The end of the track. Beyond is sacred to the Aboriginals.

Looking up towards the track which takes you up to the rim of the canyon.

Once we finished our walk it was time to hit the road again, destination Uluru.

First stop though was Kings Creek Station just because we could.

 Back on the Lasseter Highway and getting closer to Uluru. Our next stop though was the Mt Connor Lookout just before Curtin Springs were we enjoyed the view of a very white salt lake.

Smoke bush also known as silver bush or silver tails.

Mt Connor and the long road to Curtin Springs and Uluru.

Curtin Springs was one of those outback places with a quirky sense of humor.

Finally we made it to Yulara, the nearest place to camp near Uluru. Someone was not impressed with our arrival.Yulara is the service village for the national park and has effectively turned one of the world's least hospitable regions into a comfortable place to stay. Lying just outside the national park, 20km from Uluru and 53km from Kata Tjuta, the complex is the closest base for exploring the park. Yulara supplies the only accommodation, food outlets and other services available in the region.(http://www.lonelyplanet.com)

              The name,Yulara, is derived from local Aboriginal words for howling and dingos.

At last our first proper look at this magnificent Rock.

The path to the lookout at the camping ground.

Our first full day at Kings Canyon.

 Because of my bad knee Mark and I did the shorter walk up towards the south rim ( the south rim return walk). The others did the full walk. We started early to avoid the worst of the heat.

Kings Canyon is part of the Watarrka National Park.

   Looking up the path.

Looking back towards the carpark.

There were also some cycads growing up amongst the rocks.

 The views were amazing.

Climbers on the opposite side of the canyon.

The sheerness of the cliff face at the end of the canyon is breathtaking.

I couldn't decide on which photo I liked the best so have posted all three.

Back down in the carpark.

After the walk we went back to the campground to relax and wait for for the others to finish their longer walk. When they returned we had lunch and a rest before tackling an easier and shorter walk at Kathleen Springs. This is a bit further down the road from the canyon but well worth the visit.

First we spotted this skinny dingo pup
 near the restaurant.

The Kathleen Springs trapping yards. The stockmen fenced off the entrance to the narrow gorge so that they could trap and brand the cattle before transporting them to market.

There were many flowers to be seen on this walk including a desert lantern bush,4th down on the right, and golden everlastings, bottom right. 

The ripple in the rock is believed by the aboriginals to be a sign left by a spirit being,
 in this case a Inturrkunya, a carpet snake.
This is where he rested before moving through the gorge.

The waterhole was a lovely, peaceful place to visit.

That evening we enjoyed the sunset over the ranges at the sunset viewing platform at the camping ground.

A brown falcon settled in the bush not far from us keeping an eye out for prey.

We had tea that night at the restaurant where we saw the skinny dingo pup again.