On the way from Erldunda to Kings Canyon the landscape changed significantly from flat, treeless grasslands to forests of desert oaks to rising hills and ranges. The tall grasses looked like bleached blonde hair sprouting from red earth or blackened soil (from burnoffs). Desert oaks, in all stages of growth, lined the road. When we stopped for a stretch, the wind blowing through the long, slender leaves sounded like the waves on a beach. These are quite beautiful trees; the young saplings look like bodyless busbies growing from the grasses and the taller trees are quite graceful with their grey-green foliage. In the areas that have experienced a burn-off, these oaks stand like blackened skeletons forming interesting shapes along the way.
Kings Canyon Resort is one of the dearest parks we’ve booked into - $41 a night! It is in the middle of a desert and boasts a restaurant, bistro, pool, motel accommodation, general store, clinic, coach camping as well as caravans, camper vans and tents so it’s quite a large resort. Water is drinkable and that’s a bit different to some places where we’ve stayed. I’m not a fan of bore water. The sites are of a good size with some lawn and gravel. Facilities are OK although they look a bit tired.
It was fairly warm when we arrived and after a reasonable trip, we just sat around. There were several burn-offs today (at least we hope that’s what they were) and the sky was an unusually eerie colour. The sunsets are supposed to fairly spectacular but the haze limited the view – there’s always tomorrow afternoon.
Dingoes are regular visitors here and there are gates on the ablution blocks to keep wildlife out. We were warned to remove towels, etc from the clothes line as the dingoes will pull anything from lines. We always make sure that all food is put away securely each night.
Tomorrow we check out Kings Canyon. A friend told me that when he visited Kings Canyon, there were so many people there that if they all joined hands, they would have circled the area. The park isn’t full so maybe it’s about the time of year. From the weather report in the territory, it sounds like it’s getting humid.
Next Sunday (only a week away) most of me will be 60!!!!! I’m excluding fillings and pacemaker.
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