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| Spinifex Pigeon |
I found these old Giles Track photos gathering dust on an old CD when I was looking for a few walks to write whilst I was off cruising around Southeast Asia last Christmas. I’ve written about a walk I did on the Giles Track a few summers ago before on my blog, this walk differs a little in that I did it in November before the real sting of the Central Australian summer kicked in. Also unlike my other walks on the Giles Track, I was only walking the Kings Canyon end of the track today, choosing to do an out and back to Reedy Creek as I didn’t have transport out to Kathleen Springs on this visit.
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| The Giles Track passes through an area of these weathered sandstone domes at the Kings Canyon end. |
Leaving the Kings Canyon Carpark fairly early this morning I set off across Kings Creek and started to walk the Kings Canyon Circuit in reverse, this immediately warmed me up for the day as I was straight into a climb up what can seem like a never ending set of stone steps. Back when I did this walk the Kings Canyon Walk was track marked in both directions so all I had to do was to follow the little arrows, I think things have change now and the Watarrka Rangers want all the Kings Canyon day walkers heading around in a clockwise direction. If my recollections are accurate it would mean that you’d have to almost complete the circuit before heading out along the Giles Track.
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| The Giles Track isn't as developed as the Kings Canyon Circuit. |
After climbing passed Kestrel Falls I left the well developed canyon loop and headed off on the lesser Giles Track. The next two or three kilometres on the Giles Track make for really great walking in my opinion, the track weaves it’s way in and out of a labyrinth of weathered sandstone domes and slowly makes it’s way around the head of another un-named canyon, before again climbing up a series of rock shelfs to a high point with a stunning view, imaginatively called Watarrka Lookout. It was along this section of track, while I’d stopped to have a drink that I had my most notable wildlife encounter for the day when a couple of Spinifex Pigeons came over to check me out. After pouring a little of my precious water onto the sandstone, the Spinifex Pigeons came in even closer for a drink…sweet!
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The Spinifex Pigeons came in for a drink.
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After my wildlife encounter the track soon left the area of sandstone domes and I struck out east across a high sandy plateau, there is little cover in this spot and it can make for hot walking if the weather is warm like it was today. Pushing on a little it was late morning when I eventually arrived at the small Reedy Creek Gorge, having never walked here from this direction before I had to head a little downstream to make sure I was actually in the right place. Sure enough after a few minutes walking the creek started dropping into a rocky gorge down a dry waterfall, scrambling down that waterfall I passed through a section only a metre or so wide and there before me was the waterhole I’d been looking for.
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The view from Watarrka Lookout is a good one!
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After passing through this little slot canyon I was able to float out into the Reedy Creek Waterhole.
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| Waiting for the sting to go out of the sun...I looked pretty happy with myself. The weather was overcast and very warm. |
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After finding a nice little overhang out of the sun to sit, I spent the next few hours alternating between reading in my shady overhang or swimming in my secluded waterhole, both were pretty good options! Around mid afternoon I figured that I’d better make a mile back to the troopie as I was planning to walk the rest of the canyon loop counter clockwise at the end of the day. Walking the loop in that direction at the end of the day I was hoping to have the Garden of Eden all to myself as I was figuring the day walkers would be long gone. Well my cunning plan paid off today, after a fairly hot and tiring slog back across the plateau and through the sandstone domes I rejoined the Kings Canyon Loop and headed for the Garden of Eden, arriving the find this magical spot deserted. Stripping off, there was one last chance for a swim (swimming has now been banned here) before heading back to the carpark along the second half of the loop walk. I arrived back just as the last of the light disappeared into the western sky.
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I'm calling this Reedy Creek Waterhole but I'm not actually sure that it has an official name.
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Reedy Creek Waterhole
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| Reedy Creek Waterhole |
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The Dirt.
The Giles Track tends to slip under the radar a little no doubt due a little to the world class Larapinta Trail being in the neighbourhood. If you are looking for a day or two’s walking in Central Australia the Giles Track is worth considering, unlike the Larapinta you are almost certain to have this place to yourself, well once you are away from the Kings Canyon Circuit anyway. The Giles Track is track marked although you need to keep an eye out for those little arrows on the rock slabs sections, the arrows might only pop up to tell you when it’s time to change direction and leave a slab, it’s not as much of a defined track as the Larapinta. I walked around 20 kilometres and probably climbed 250 metres over the course of today’s hard stroll. As far as I know no one has published walking notes to the walk as I did it although Mr Tyrone Thomas and Mr & Mrs Daly have published similar walks in the area.
Finally, once again, without sounding like a wanker I have to warn people that walking here at this time of the year can get extremely hot and uncomfortable, it is possible to walk here in the warmer months but you need to be experienced with extreme desert temperatures and have a plan with dealing with the heat - mine normally involves spending the warmest hours of the day swimming in a waterhole!
Relevant Posts.
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| Heading back to Alice Springs the next day the unsettled conditions continued. |
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| I did over 300,000 kilometres touring around Australia in my old troopie. |
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