The mornings are getting earlier!

2008-09-15 - Monday

Believe it or not, this was a 5am morning. Four of us, Sophie, Paul, Myself and our guide Matt headed off to climb Kings Canyon to witness the sunrise.

Up, prep'd, had breakfast and was on the trail head by 6am. We speed hiked around to our lookout site and waited for the sun to rise. As it came up we took a couple of "pose" shots and a couple of the rising sun, of course, and then continued our speed hike back down the canyon to collect the rest of our group and start our 5 hour trek back to Alice Springs.

Yesterday, it took us about 3.5 hours to complete the hike, this morning, we completed it in under an hour and a half, including the 20min stop for pics.

Once in Alice Springs, we took a tour of the Alice Springs Desert Park, where we learned of the life that exists in the desert (even if we don't see it). It was a great opportunity to get up and close to all the little (and big) critters that live out there; things like: Thorny Devils, Desert Rats, Legless Lizards and such. We finished our tour of the Park with a live show entitled "Birds of Prey", which showcased many of Australia's desert birds of prey (sorta makes sense, given the name of the show).

After the show, we booked into our campsite and met our new compadres, who are joining us from another tour. After some introductions it was off to Annie's Place for some supper.

So, in addition to our six, we now have: Bart from Holland, Matt from Belgium, Andrea from Switzerland, Martin and Nick from England, and Sasha from Austria.

Side Story:

In the process of booking out of Annie's Place a couple of days ago, I had misplaced by "Canada" cap. I knew it was a long shot, but I checked with their front desk to see if it was returned and sure enough there it was. Pretty cool. Unfortunately, my micro towel wasn't there...but I have another...so I'll be fine.