It was with a mixture of excited anticipation and nervousness that we approached the Kings Canyon Rim walk. Excitement because of the spectacular scenery and great reviews of the 6.5km moderately difficult walk. Nervous because it would be the longest and most challenging walk we have attempted as a family.
We set off early to avoid the heat, but the cloudy sky had us carrying raincoats and thankful for the cool change.
The initial stage of the walk is a 600m climb up a rock staircase which is extremely steep. Luka and Freya handled it with ease, scrambling up eagerly, not hampered in the slightest by their backpacks.
At the top a misty rain began but didn't dampen our enthusiasm. The track was uneven but fairly flat with amazing views of the cliffs and surrounding areas.
At the halfway point a very steep descent on a wooden staircase takes you to the waterhole aptly named “Garden of Eden”. A rainforest type environment with lush plant life, frogs and birds is a stark contrast to the surrounding bare rockfaces.
What goes down must go back up (or something like that!) so we climbed another steep staircase to reach the top of the southern canyon wall.
By this stage, almost everyone overtaking us commented on how well the children were doing or how great it was to see a family tackling the walk together.
By now the misty rain had become a heavy downpour and despite our raincoats, we were soaked. Stella had prime position in the front pack, tucked inside Mummy's raincoat, warm and dry, and slept on and off for the whole walk.
Our descending paths had turned into waterfalls and flat areas into huge puddles, adding to the challenge. We kept our spirits high by reminding each other what a tremendous adventure we were having. That and plenty of yummy snacks.
After a final rock staircase we made our way back to the car park 3.5 hours later chilly and soaked but justifiably proud of our achievement.
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