“I have always wanted to travel to the center of Australia, climb Kings Canyon as a queen, in a full-length Gaultier sequin, heels and a tiara.”
No, they’re not my words but the ones uttered in the 1994 comedy ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert‘ which brought this canyon to my attention many many years after its release. I had to get up super-early to be ready for a 4 am departure so that we would be at the canyon early morning to do the walk. There were two walk options which were basically down below (canyon creek walk) or up top (rim walk) of which I chose the latter.
I did have my reservations though as foot blisters were making it quite painful to walk in my sandals and apart from one other woman in our group I was the only one wearing such footwear. On top of that I was also the only one carrying my 1.5l water bottle and my backpack was also bigger and almost definitely heavier than everyone else’s. Anyway, you can’t go all that way and not do it so I went for it and I’m glad I did as it was fairly easy starting with 500 steps up of which I led the way.
The walk took about three hours and was done by a guide who was a nice chap with a clear accent and who kept to the point in an informative and interesting way unlike the previous days drivers/guides who felt the need to talk the whole time even if it was about nothing much. We were told that due to recent rainfall in the area it was as green as it had ever been which I guess none of us tourists were expecting to see.
We walked down to the Garden of Eden and marvelled at the shear north and south walls (according to their pamphlet!) which was a nice break in the shade from the heat on top which in itself was cooler than normal. As a survivor of Tokyo’s hot and humid Summer conditions it was fairly easy for me to deal with.
After 88 mins of ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert‘ the three drag queens begin their ascend of Kings Canyon starting off on the same steps and going on through some fairly nondescript parts before they reach the area below where there is a gap between the two rocks.
We then see the strange dome shaped rocks below for a brief second or two.
After that we see some helicopter shots looking down at the three characters from above so I wasn’t quite able to replicate that so you’ll have to settle for the one above!
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