HOLIDAY PARKS NEAR WATARRKA NP
HIGHLIGHTS
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Stark red sandstone, millions of years in the making; some walks are harder than others; powered sites are available at Kings Canyon Resort.
HOLIDAY PARKS NEAR WATARRKA NP
AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE
Kings Canyon Resort( 08) 7999 6035 Luritja Road Watarrka National Park |
RESIDENT MANAGER
WELCOME
PET FRIENDLY
|
|
|
|
|
SWIMMING |
|
|
GAMES ROOM |
PLAYGROUND |
KIOSK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WI-FI |
BBQ AREA |
WHEELCHAIR |
POOL |
ACCESS |
|
RV SITES |
CAMP KITCHEN |
POWERED SITES
UNPOWERED SITES
ON-SITE VANS / CABINS
070 100 037
SITES WITH ENSUITES
HOT SHOWERS
WASHING MACHINES
000 036 010
|
Kings Creek Station( 08) 8956 7474 Off Lasseter Highway Kings Canyon |
WELCOME |
|
|
|
POWERED SITES
UNPOWERED SITES
ON-SITE VANS / CABINS
023 039 025
SITES WITH ENSUITES
HOT SHOWERS
WASHING MACHINES
000 015 001
|
include the endemic creeping swamp fern and a species of cycad( Macrozamia macdonnellii), relics of the rainforest which covered the area 50 million years ago. This diverse vegetation fosters a wealth of wildlife, including more than 100 species of birds.
STATIONS OF THE PAST
Explorers Ernest Giles and Samuel Carmichael were the first Europeans to traverse the region in October 1872. They found desperately needed water within the canyon and Giles named the creek after an old friend, Fiedler King; the range he named after his brother-in-law, George
HIGHLIGHTS
Kings Canyon Rim Walk. Excellent facilities at Kings Canyon Resort. Outback station stay on Kings Creek Station.
Gill, who helped fund the expedition. Giles was followed a year later by William Gosse, who camped along Kings Creek before heading south and‘ discovering’ Uluru, which he named Ayers Rock after the then-governor of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers.
In the late 1880s, Tempe Downs cattle station was established on land east of the canyon. However, a run of bad seasons decimated the grazing land and dried up the creeks, forcing the owners to move 2500 head of cattle west to Reedy Rockhole and Kathleen Springs. This brought the pastoralists into conflict with the Luritja people, a number of whom were arrested by police for spearing cattle in defence of their traditional waterholes. In 1983, Tempe Downs surrendered more than 1000sq km of land for the establishment of the national park, which was formally declared in 1989.
Jack and Elsie Cotterill set up the first tourism venture in the area in 1960 when they built a tourist lodge called Wallara Ranch at Yowa Bore, 100km east of the canyon. In 1980, Ian and Lyn Conway took up 3200sq km of Crown Land to establish Kings Creek Station, adjoining what is now the national park, on which they created a successful cattle enterprise and tourist haven, offering a station-stay experience for travellers. They also founded a charitable trust called Conway’ s Kids to provide educational opportunities for indigenous students from remote central Australian communities.
REWARDING WALKS
For modern-day visitors, bushwalking is the main activity in the park and several well-marked walking trails of differing lengths and degrees of difficulty provide ample opportunity to explore this unforgiving, unforgettable environment.
A good introduction is the Kings Creek Walk, an easy 2.6km return stroll that meanders along the canyon floor, through
ADVENTURES
75