Kings Canyon, Northern Territory 🇦🇺 2025

Date: 17-19th August 2025 

Travelled: 480 kms from Alice Springs to Kings Canyon  

Visited: Watarrka National Park, the Kings Canyon Rim Walk  

Stayed: Discovery Parks CP, $75 pn, S24.25033, E131.51117 

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We get the Jayco ready for the road once again but before departing Alice Springs we drive down to the aquatic centre for a final swim. May not see another pool worth a swim for a while.

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Stopping for a coffee at Stuart Wells Roadhouse (Hugh) we catch up with this emu father and his single chick. NT roadhouses all have something quirky going for them.

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Having turned onto the Lasseter Highway towards Kings Canyon we continue for another 90 kilometres before calling it a day at a free overnight rest stop, pictured below. We spend the evening and a very cold morning with 6 or 7 other campers looking for a free night.

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In the morning we continue on another 20 kilometres before turning on Luritja Road and the final 170 kms to Kings Canyon in the Watarrka National Park. Our final destination for the day will be the Discovery CP but it’s another 10 past the canyon turn so we decide to do the Kings Canyon creek walk and check out parking etc for the longer walk tomorrow.

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The creek walk is only 2 kms but well worth the 45 minutes. The photo above looks like an Albert Namatjira painting to us the trees and rock formations are beautiful.

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The creek walk done we find our site at the CP and settle in. Looks nice, so it should be at $75 a night.

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Next morning we drive back out to the canyon car-park in the dark, but by the time we’ve had a coffee the first light of dawn leads the way. The first flight of 500 rock steps look more daunting that it is. We soon pass a group of seemingly unfit people, at the top we catch the sun striking the ridge tops.

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We walk the northern rim for the next hour eventually take the turn for Cotterill’s Bridge to another lookout. Then we have to backtrack the 600 m to the main track again.

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At the head of the canyon we take the stairs down to the creek and the Garden of Eden. Then back up the stairs (lots of stairs) on the opposite side and walk back to the starting point.

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The rim walk took us just less than 3 hours. Whilst all the rock steps and stairs will get your heart rate up a little we did the climb and walk easily. Taking our walking sticks helped. One of the most scenic walks we’ve done.

So back to the CP for an afternoon rest that’s Kings Canyon done.

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Michael + Pam